Big Turnout For IRFU Connacht Fitness Seminar

The IRFU and Connacht Rugby were delighted with the turnout for the second annual fitness seminar which was held at the Sportsground in Galway, the home of Connacht Rugby, last Monday.

83 coaches attended the seminar which was aimed at rugby coaches working at all stages. The seminar was held in the Connacht Rugby gym, one of the best strength and conditioning facilities in Ireland.

This year more presenters and different topics were added to the seminar. The topics that were covered are as follows:

Topic 1 – ‘How to develop speed in our players‘
Presenter: Des Ryan (IRFU fitness education manager)

Topic 2 – ‘Best practice in nutrition for our players’
Presenter: Kevin Cradock (Connacht Rugby senior head fitness coach)

Topic 3 – ‘Practical planning and periodisation for club and school coaches’
Presenter: Antoine Mobian (Connacht Rugby Academy fitness coach)

Topic 4 – ‘The essentials of high performance and excellence’
Presenter: Greg Muller (Connacht Rugby senior fitness coach and elite athletic and human performance coach)

The purpose of the seminar was to give the coaches an introduction to what is the most appropriate and practical method to develop their players.

Also, the seminar was ideal for coaches who would like to introduce something new and challenging to their training.

The seminar was open to any coaches, especially from Connacht and the surrounding areas – this included coaches showing great commitment and travelling large distances from other provinces.

Similar workshops will be run in the Munster, Leinster and Ulster areas. Information on these workshops and others during the year will be found on www.irishrugby.ie and provincial websites as soon as details are available.

Des Ryan, IRFU fitness education manager, said: “I was delighted with the turnout for the seminar. It was great to see so many likeminded people in one room sharing ideas and asking interesting questions.

“I hope the coaches found the evening informative and also that the evening increased awareness of the IRFU’s fitness education pathway. I am looking forward to meeting more people at the seminars in the other provinces.

“I would like to thank the presenters and everyone at Connacht Rugby for helping to organise the event, especially Eamonn Molloy and Jimmy Duffy.”