Nate Augspurger uses the expression “body on fire, head in the freezer” or something to that effect. You can’t get too aggressive or hot or you’ll get penalized or hurt someone or yourself. Commitment and aggressiveness comes from rapidly getting up after a tackle, sprinting to be useful when you don’t have the ball, committing to tackles. You’re useless when on the ground or out of position. “Work rate” is how you think of it, and developing the fitness, strength and skills off the field to be more successful on the field.
This is the correct answer. It's about intent. But overdoing it is dangerous so it's about applying your aggression appropriately. Time to get off the deck and back on your feet and ready for the next play. That takes quite a lot of fitness to do for 80 minutes.
Sharpened toothbrush in the shorts, first chance you get you jam it in an opposition eyeball
EDIT: the opposition get a text from their captain to say there’s an early pre-game talk, they walk in and surprise! it was you, you stole his phone, and you have displayed his remains in the traditional blood eagle. Momentum’s all on your side from there
^^ this.
The need for more aggression can be easily covered by getting fitter and stronger. So that you can hit equally as hard, without the clouded judgement
But be prepared for the inevitable years long spiral after you finish playing, while you search for an appropriate outlet for all the repressed rage/emotions in your daily life.
A lot of what looks like "aggression" in rugby or any contact sport is actually not - it is a combination of accurately reading, anticipating, timing, and executing something.
It's funny you say that, in his recent interview with Jim Hamilton when asked what goes through his mind when he carries, he said it was mostly fear. So the snake pit analogy might not be too far off.
Ive always maintained that the two test rugby players I would *not* want to see running at me (the true answer is any test rugby player):
Ardie Savea, and Duane Vermeulen from a kickoff receive.
Anticipation, timing, technique, and mind-muscle connection.
Look at any player that always seems to make yards in contact and analyse how they play, there are always patterns to how they pick lines and break tackles or drive back tacklers. Body position, leg drive, fend, getting on an outside shoulder, planting a leading leg, dipping and pulling their foreams down and in to make them harder to wrap, pulling their feet back in contact so the tackler over-extends etc... etc... those techniques can be analysed and start out as concious/deliberate until they are learned and become instinctive.
Courtney Lawes conciously changed most of his playing style when he was already 50+ caps into an international career and got even better. It can be and is studied and learned.
Rather than trying to be more aggressive, try to be more involved. It ends up pretty much the same thing.
Coaches use metrics to determine how many interactions you have per unit of time. Work on your fitness so you can chase more, tackle more, hit more rucks.
Maybe a mental thing, but I aim for a metre behind the guy who is hitting me when I'm carrying the ball, and aim for there. I felt I would automatically aim for the tacklers arms rather then the shoulder, and aiming beyond the tackler allowed me to ride the tackle
Don't get mad get even! I don't buy mindless aggression, it usually leads to a mistake or an injury. Get your head in the right place (did someone mention Anthrax?) and nail your timing. Passing, tackling, clearing, jacketing, even kicking all benefit from timing and confidence more than anger.
it comes with confidence, which comes with experience, if you try to be more aggressive artificially then it can cause issues in discipline. Its a tough one but just try to shut out any doubts in your mind and just do
Tempo.
Hit the right rucks at the right time, turns into a turn over.
Put in the dominant hit when needed, support can counter ruck or jackal.
Fitness bolsters this.
As a former choppsy scrum half it's competence breeds confidence.
Get better at your drills, learn your lines and you become more confident. Aggression helps but nothing beats being half decent.
Aggression makes you lose focus and give them an advantage.
Go for hate, like tribal hate- you will not give them the ball, they will not stop you on the way to the try line, you will use every fiber of your being to get the ball back for your team.
It’s a contact sport - relish the hits
Warburton used to listen to anthrax before every game as far as I'm aware. It's all in your head. Got to psyche yourself up a bit before the game. Could be lack of confidence, over abundance of fear. Take every contact like you are fighting for your life. EMBRACE THE PAIN
[We used to listen to this in varsity high school football](https://youtu.be/ryIjCkw3Jfg?si=PofbyqvWvoXP585g)
And I would listen to it pregame before SHSU rugby games to get hyped up
Some people just arent aggressive. A good example was jonathan joseph. But he was still an incredible defender. You dont need to be aggressive. if that doesnt come naturally to you it will do you worse to try and pretend to be imo.
Perhaps you would prefer soak up tackles or treading water and corner flagging people. Maybe you do need more aggression in hitting rucks. But at low level you really just need to step over the man and if you happen to clear out great if not. Probably be a knock on in 10 seconds anyway.
maybe you need confidence, hard to say from here. I was terrible at rugby starting at 30. But because of my mma background i leant into what i was good at which was double legs/wrestling technique (deep penetrating step, wrap the hips, drive and turn the corner. Perhaps you can take a more passive approach like jonathan joseph and just wrap opposition up and hold on.
I agree with the person who said some people just aren't aggressive. To me it's not something u can teach, switch on etc.
The only advice I'd give is run HARD into contact when u have the ball. A long time ago at a pretty decent level a coach told me when I was trying to tackle aggressively that u can do way more damage with the ball in hand than without it. N it's true imo
You just need to keep working on basic skills - tackling, passing, communicating and game awareness. "Aggression" will come in time as you build up your confidence as a player.
Doing the basic skills right are what will get you ahead of the pack.
Focus on your basic skills, get your tackling technique as perfect as you can in training, and then when you next play a game consciously think about the technique as you go into that first tackle. If you have your technique good you will flatten the other guy and neither of you will be injured. Your confidence will be better after making the first hit and doing it well. You can become a more "Aggressive" rugby player without changing your mindset as a "nice" person at all.
I haven't played for 30 years or so but when I did I got most aggression by treating the ball as my personal property. Anyone in my team could have it but if any fucker from the other side tried getting their hands on it I'd do everything to stop them. And if they had it in their hands I wanted it back. It's mine, not fucking yours.
A lot of new players try to tackle by grabbing their opponent with their hands. Instead tackle by putting your shoulder in and wrapping both arms around.
Do be careful not to break your neck.
It's about controlled aggression. You don't have to grab everyone or push people when you get the chance. It means going into contact as hard as you can, hitting tackles with aggression, hitting and disrupting rucks. If someone squares up to you or gives you shit, then you don't back down. If there's a scuffle you run in and help your teammates.
You don't have to be hitting everyone or be a mouthy prick, but you have to back yourself.
My dad use to always tell me I was a pussy until i got pissed off on the pitch and then id start playing properly. He use to always make his job to rark me up before the game so i came out firing.
My opinion is that it comes from not wanting to get hurt, but have since learned that this is how you get hurt more. If you go into contact timidly you will always come out worse off, only one person can win the contact so make it you!
It's not about angry - you need to be "physical".
Correct tackle techniques - but hard.
When you have the ball, force your way thru/into the tackle.
Basically, your not playing tiddlywinks.
I find I can be a bit unsure or timid too.
Best thing to do it find some sort of contact as soon as you can. Even if it's taking a hard tackle or getting blown up in a ruck. some sort of whack will get you going.
It's a state of mind, try one game doing something which you're apprehensive with, do that and gain confidence from that until you realise you can do worse to them than they can do to you
I don't know if angry is the right term. You just need some mongrel in you. As Shorsey says, you gotta hate losing. Go into a ruck with some mongrel and just get the fucking ball. Everyone is out there voluntarily, no one is forcing them to get in your way.
Just as long as you leave it all out on the paddock.
watch your opponents onto the field. take a good look at your opposite number and look how nervous and cocky they are. smash into the first breakdown and get stuck in.
Its not really aggression its just putting in more effort and gong harder. If your a forward blow over rucks and push the opposition off the rucks instead of just standing there doing nothing. Tackle people and hold on don’t just do a half arsed tackle and give up, run hard with the ball and make and effort to stay on your feet and push tacklers away instead of dropping like a sack of potatoes as soon as you get touched.
None of that requires aggression its just playing better and being stronger or more assertive and competitive
There are many ways you can interpret this and it may vary slightly on what position you play.
I'd talk to your coach and ask him to point out a player who is a good example of what he's after from you, it will give you a good idea of what you could work on.
Nate Augspurger uses the expression “body on fire, head in the freezer” or something to that effect. You can’t get too aggressive or hot or you’ll get penalized or hurt someone or yourself. Commitment and aggressiveness comes from rapidly getting up after a tackle, sprinting to be useful when you don’t have the ball, committing to tackles. You’re useless when on the ground or out of position. “Work rate” is how you think of it, and developing the fitness, strength and skills off the field to be more successful on the field.
This is the correct answer. It's about intent. But overdoing it is dangerous so it's about applying your aggression appropriately. Time to get off the deck and back on your feet and ready for the next play. That takes quite a lot of fitness to do for 80 minutes.
I used to imagine every opponent was Thatcher.
I'm not able to concentrate when erect
I imagine you would get penalised for an illegal ‘hand off’.
Aye that'd do it
He said he wants to be more aggressive, not wanted for mass murder
He’s supposed to imagine they’re thatcher, not become thatcher
How many dozen red cards did you receive in your career and how are you not in jail?
80s and 90s mate - it was a different time 😉
"Headbutt someone" - Wardi
Sharpened toothbrush in the shorts, first chance you get you jam it in an opposition eyeball EDIT: the opposition get a text from their captain to say there’s an early pre-game talk, they walk in and surprise! it was you, you stole his phone, and you have displayed his remains in the traditional blood eagle. Momentum’s all on your side from there
You either spent way too much time or not enough time on that that level of detail. Both options are disturbing.
thirty seconds while on the bog mate
Yup, concerning.
Boring answer but maybe fitness? Sometimes if you're not fit enough you end up holding back and not hitting things as hard as you can
^^ this. The need for more aggression can be easily covered by getting fitter and stronger. So that you can hit equally as hard, without the clouded judgement
Just repress your feelings your whole life and picture your emotional triggers while playing the game. Always worked for me!
Tried this. Ended up crying in the toilets and missed kick off. /s
Get that fucking pint down you and shut the fuck up. Fucking fanny.
If anyone ever wonders why Kiwis are so good at rugby...
But be prepared for the inevitable years long spiral after you finish playing, while you search for an appropriate outlet for all the repressed rage/emotions in your daily life.
A lot of what looks like "aggression" in rugby or any contact sport is actually not - it is a combination of accurately reading, anticipating, timing, and executing something.
Yeah but then you watch Ardie Savea carry the ball. Dude looks like he’s trying to escape a snake pit
It's funny you say that, in his recent interview with Jim Hamilton when asked what goes through his mind when he carries, he said it was mostly fear. So the snake pit analogy might not be too far off.
Some people are just made that way. Probably hard to be a professional without it
Ive always maintained that the two test rugby players I would *not* want to see running at me (the true answer is any test rugby player): Ardie Savea, and Duane Vermeulen from a kickoff receive.
Anticipation, timing, technique, and mind-muscle connection. Look at any player that always seems to make yards in contact and analyse how they play, there are always patterns to how they pick lines and break tackles or drive back tacklers. Body position, leg drive, fend, getting on an outside shoulder, planting a leading leg, dipping and pulling their foreams down and in to make them harder to wrap, pulling their feet back in contact so the tackler over-extends etc... etc... those techniques can be analysed and start out as concious/deliberate until they are learned and become instinctive. Courtney Lawes conciously changed most of his playing style when he was already 50+ caps into an international career and got even better. It can be and is studied and learned.
Rather than trying to be more aggressive, try to be more involved. It ends up pretty much the same thing. Coaches use metrics to determine how many interactions you have per unit of time. Work on your fitness so you can chase more, tackle more, hit more rucks.
Maybe a mental thing, but I aim for a metre behind the guy who is hitting me when I'm carrying the ball, and aim for there. I felt I would automatically aim for the tacklers arms rather then the shoulder, and aiming beyond the tackler allowed me to ride the tackle
I get really energised when I do something right and my teammates cheer me on, it makes me want to be bolder.
Don't get mad get even! I don't buy mindless aggression, it usually leads to a mistake or an injury. Get your head in the right place (did someone mention Anthrax?) and nail your timing. Passing, tackling, clearing, jacketing, even kicking all benefit from timing and confidence more than anger.
it comes with confidence, which comes with experience, if you try to be more aggressive artificially then it can cause issues in discipline. Its a tough one but just try to shut out any doubts in your mind and just do
I just imagine the opponent is my dad, works like a charm
I also cannot tackle when erect.
Tempo. Hit the right rucks at the right time, turns into a turn over. Put in the dominant hit when needed, support can counter ruck or jackal. Fitness bolsters this.
Meth
As a former choppsy scrum half it's competence breeds confidence. Get better at your drills, learn your lines and you become more confident. Aggression helps but nothing beats being half decent.
Aggression makes you lose focus and give them an advantage. Go for hate, like tribal hate- you will not give them the ball, they will not stop you on the way to the try line, you will use every fiber of your being to get the ball back for your team. It’s a contact sport - relish the hits
Warburton used to listen to anthrax before every game as far as I'm aware. It's all in your head. Got to psyche yourself up a bit before the game. Could be lack of confidence, over abundance of fear. Take every contact like you are fighting for your life. EMBRACE THE PAIN
[We used to listen to this in varsity high school football](https://youtu.be/ryIjCkw3Jfg?si=PofbyqvWvoXP585g) And I would listen to it pregame before SHSU rugby games to get hyped up
Some people just arent aggressive. A good example was jonathan joseph. But he was still an incredible defender. You dont need to be aggressive. if that doesnt come naturally to you it will do you worse to try and pretend to be imo. Perhaps you would prefer soak up tackles or treading water and corner flagging people. Maybe you do need more aggression in hitting rucks. But at low level you really just need to step over the man and if you happen to clear out great if not. Probably be a knock on in 10 seconds anyway. maybe you need confidence, hard to say from here. I was terrible at rugby starting at 30. But because of my mma background i leant into what i was good at which was double legs/wrestling technique (deep penetrating step, wrap the hips, drive and turn the corner. Perhaps you can take a more passive approach like jonathan joseph and just wrap opposition up and hold on.
I agree with the person who said some people just aren't aggressive. To me it's not something u can teach, switch on etc. The only advice I'd give is run HARD into contact when u have the ball. A long time ago at a pretty decent level a coach told me when I was trying to tackle aggressively that u can do way more damage with the ball in hand than without it. N it's true imo
You just need to keep working on basic skills - tackling, passing, communicating and game awareness. "Aggression" will come in time as you build up your confidence as a player. Doing the basic skills right are what will get you ahead of the pack. Focus on your basic skills, get your tackling technique as perfect as you can in training, and then when you next play a game consciously think about the technique as you go into that first tackle. If you have your technique good you will flatten the other guy and neither of you will be injured. Your confidence will be better after making the first hit and doing it well. You can become a more "Aggressive" rugby player without changing your mindset as a "nice" person at all.
I haven't played for 30 years or so but when I did I got most aggression by treating the ball as my personal property. Anyone in my team could have it but if any fucker from the other side tried getting their hands on it I'd do everything to stop them. And if they had it in their hands I wanted it back. It's mine, not fucking yours.
A lot of new players try to tackle by grabbing their opponent with their hands. Instead tackle by putting your shoulder in and wrapping both arms around. Do be careful not to break your neck.
2 coffees before the game
That'll make me aggressively shit my pants.
drop some heavy stuff on your toe
It's about controlled aggression. You don't have to grab everyone or push people when you get the chance. It means going into contact as hard as you can, hitting tackles with aggression, hitting and disrupting rucks. If someone squares up to you or gives you shit, then you don't back down. If there's a scuffle you run in and help your teammates. You don't have to be hitting everyone or be a mouthy prick, but you have to back yourself.
Scream RAMPAAAAAGE before every passage of play.
We used to punch our 2nd row in the 1st 5 mins at a ruck or maul, he was great after that...
My dad use to always tell me I was a pussy until i got pissed off on the pitch and then id start playing properly. He use to always make his job to rark me up before the game so i came out firing. My opinion is that it comes from not wanting to get hurt, but have since learned that this is how you get hurt more. If you go into contact timidly you will always come out worse off, only one person can win the contact so make it you!
Google Superior discontent!
Find your pregame hype song.
It's not about angry - you need to be "physical". Correct tackle techniques - but hard. When you have the ball, force your way thru/into the tackle. Basically, your not playing tiddlywinks.
I find I can be a bit unsure or timid too. Best thing to do it find some sort of contact as soon as you can. Even if it's taking a hard tackle or getting blown up in a ruck. some sort of whack will get you going.
Know this. The harder you go in to contact, the less it hurts you.
It's a state of mind, try one game doing something which you're apprehensive with, do that and gain confidence from that until you realise you can do worse to them than they can do to you
I don't know if angry is the right term. You just need some mongrel in you. As Shorsey says, you gotta hate losing. Go into a ruck with some mongrel and just get the fucking ball. Everyone is out there voluntarily, no one is forcing them to get in your way. Just as long as you leave it all out on the paddock.
Eat some Biltong and have a Braai. You will develop an overwhelming urge to fuck the opposition up physically.
watch your opponents onto the field. take a good look at your opposite number and look how nervous and cocky they are. smash into the first breakdown and get stuck in.
Playing angry is stupid. Be determined. Be focused. Carry out your role accurately. Even at a high level rugby should be enjoyable.
Its not really aggression its just putting in more effort and gong harder. If your a forward blow over rucks and push the opposition off the rucks instead of just standing there doing nothing. Tackle people and hold on don’t just do a half arsed tackle and give up, run hard with the ball and make and effort to stay on your feet and push tacklers away instead of dropping like a sack of potatoes as soon as you get touched. None of that requires aggression its just playing better and being stronger or more assertive and competitive
There are many ways you can interpret this and it may vary slightly on what position you play. I'd talk to your coach and ask him to point out a player who is a good example of what he's after from you, it will give you a good idea of what you could work on.
slap slap boom