I feel a sensible goal for you is to be pain free and possess the mobility, strength and fitness to be able to handle anything the game or life throws at you. That means you’ll be able to perform well whether you’re playing at 20 or 40 or still coaching into your 80s.
A simple way to gauge how you’re doing on this front is by checking how well you can squat, lunge, and deadlift. These cover most of the movement demands in rugby, from tackling and scrummaging to sprinting and stepping. The main factor behind all three is how well your hips are functioning.
The hips are meant to move in all directions, your leg should be able to go up, down, in, out, and rotate inwards and outwards. It’s this rotation that most players start to lose, which creates issues across other movements. If you can’t rotate your thigh bone in or out properly, you’ll struggle to squat, lunge or even bend down efficiently. This loss of rotation usually comes from too much sitting, repetitive movement patterns like running, or tightness in surrounding joints — the ankles being a common culprit.
The good news is you can usually loosen the hips and restore rotation fairly quickly. It doesn’t need fancy equipment, though I often use a slant board — basically a wedge or ramp that changes the angle of your foot and shifts how your hips are loaded. If you don’t have one, you can do the same by raising part of your foot (toe or heel) on a step or book while keeping the other part on the floor.
I’ve used this loads recently to free up my hips during Hyrox training. I’m currently doing a version of it most days and my lunges feel the best they ever have been, even though my knee’s still recovering from a knock last month. I’ve also used it with plenty of players and clients looking to improve squat depth, sprinting range or general movement.
There are six key variations you can use to improve hip mobility. You’ll find them outlined below. I’ve also recorded a 10-minute follow-along session that’s inside the member area for all current and past clients. You shouldn’t feel pain when doing any of these, especially in the knees, keep it smooth and don’t try to force range. Your body will open up naturally over time.
2 Legged Slant Boards – The first version has your legs narrow, toes up the slant board, focus on keeping the inner heel down while you perform a bending motion from the waist. The other motion has legs wide apart, toes down the board, focus on keeping the outer heel down while you perform a squat type motion.
Staggered Leg Slant boards – The same two versions are repeated but now the feet are in a staggered position with only one foot in front of the other. This will show if you have any side that is stiffer than the other.
Slant board split squats – In this movement, the front foot goes on the slant board and you perform a split squat. In the first version, your toes go up the board, to make it harder, shorten your stance and push your knee further over your toes (while keeping the heel down). In the second version, the foot goes down the board with your focus on keeping the knee stacked above or slightly behind the toes. To increase difficulty here, lengthen your stance by taking the back foot further away.
What Does This Mean For You
Most players don’t realise how stiff their hips are becoming because it happens gradually. Adding these drills into your week will unlock mobility, build some strength and improve how you move across the board. If you’re training regularly but still feel tight, awkward or uneven when squatting, lunging or changing direction, then this could be the missing piece.