Neck strength for rugby: a progressive programme for every position

Neck training is one of the most talked-about topics in rugby strength and conditioning, and one of the least done at amateur level. It takes about five minutes, needs no equipment to start and fits into a warm-up or the rests between your main lifts. This guide gives you a programme you can start today, explains what the research actually shows, and is clear about what it doesn’t.

Why rugby players train the neck

Rugby puts the neck under load in scrums, rucks, mauls, tackles and falls. A strong neck helps you hold your head and spine in a good position in contact and set piece. That’s why expert consensus now recommends neck training as standard for contact players Neck-training Delphi 2025, and why our coaching rules make it non-optional for every contact position.

Some groups have more to gain. In university rugby, women’s necks were on average 47% weaker than men’s Eur J Sport Sci 2021, and anyone with a history of concussion is a priority too. Both groups get the full dose in Match Ready.

How often and for how long

• Every contact player: 2–3 times a week for at least 8 weeks, then at least once a week to maintain, all year.
• Front row and back row: 3 times a week all season.
• Women and anyone with a concussion history: the full dose, as a priority group.
• Players returning from concussion: the neck block at full dose for 3 months after return.
• Players new to the front row: a 6-week neck and trunk block before the season.

Each session takes about 5 minutes. Put it in your warm-up, at the end of a session, or pair it with your main lifts: do a neck hold in the first half of each rest between heavy sets. It won’t affect your lifting and it saves time.

Run it in 8-week blocks, with a simple retest where you can (how long you can hold a set effort, or a partner-held test), and keep a maintenance dose going in-season.

The programme: four stages

Stage 1: self-resisted holds (no kit)

Sit or stand tall. Place your hand on your forehead and push your head into your hand while your hand resists, so nothing moves. Build the effort steadily over the first few seconds and hold for 15 seconds. Repeat pushing backwards (hands behind your head), then left and right (hand on the side of your head).

• Dose: 4 directions × 15 seconds, 2–3 rounds.
• Effort: start around half effort and build over the weeks to a strong but pain-free push.
• Progress when: 3 rounds feel controlled with good posture and no symptoms.

This is the stage that improved neck strength in a randomised pilot trial in age-grade rugby players over eight weeks Attwood et al. 2021. Don’t rush past it.

Stage 2: add rotation

Same idea, resisting turning your head left and right with your hand on the side of your jaw and temple. Keep the rest of the body still.

Stage 3: partner and band work through range

Now the neck moves. A partner applies steady manual resistance as you move slowly through flexion, extension and side-bending, or you use a light resistance band anchored at head height. Extension (moving the head back against resistance) gets priority. Typical dose: 2–3 sets of 8–12 slow reps each direction.

Stage 4: plates or harness (experienced adults)

Adults with lifting experience can add load: lying on a bench holding a plate on the forehead (flexion) or wearing a neck harness (extension), with slow, controlled lowering. Start very light. Typical dose: 2–3 sets of 10–15 reps.

Safety rules

• Never train into pain. Progress by holding time and effort, not by grinding.
• Stop straight away if you feel dizziness, pins and needles, numbness, or symptoms going into your arm, and get checked by a doctor or physio.
• After a head injury, neck training is part of the later return stages only, as your graduated return allows. Follow your doctor’s advice. See concussion return to play.
• Neck pain at rest, after a knock, or pain at night isn’t something to train through.

Neck work for different positions

Every contact player trains the neck, but emphasis shifts:

• Front row: full dose three times a week, alongside trunk bracing in a scrum posture and isometric leg drives. See front row training.
• Back row and locks: three and 2–3 times a week respectively, alongside shoulder work for tacklers. See second and back row training.
• Backs: at least twice a week, particularly centres. In women’s rugby, every position gets the full dose.

Low tackle heights in community rugby ask more of the neck, hips and trunk together Guilfoyle et al. 2026, so neck work sits alongside hip-hinge and trunk-endurance work for every position.

Tackle technique matters as much as strength

The neck is only one part of contact preparation. Technique is the other. A simple cue card: head on the same side as the ball (never across the ball carrier), cheek to cheek, eyes open, chest up, aim below the sternum, drive with the legs Hopkinson et al. 2025. Practise it at club training with your coach, building from tackling on your knees to shields, walking pace and then live contact.

How Match Ready does it

The app schedules your neck work automatically (more for front-rowers, back-rowers, women and anyone returning from concussion), pairs light holds into your main-lift rests so it costs no extra time, and never cuts neck work when a session runs short. See position plans.

Fitting neck work into your week

Common mistakes

• Going straight to a heavy harness. Build tolerance with holds and bands first; there’s no prize for loading early.
• Jerky, fast reps. Neck work is slow and controlled, with a steady build-up of effort.
• Only training the front of the neck. Extension, side-bending and rotation all matter, with extension prioritised.
• Stopping in-season. Keep at least a weekly maintenance dose year-round, more for the front row and back row.
• Treating it as concussion protection. It’s contact preparation. Tackle technique, the laws and a mouthguard still matter.

Women’s rugby: neck work for every position

Women are a priority group for neck training. In university rugby, women’s necks were on average 47% weaker than men’s Eur J Sport Sci 2021, and in women’s rugby the backs face more severe collisions than many assume. So in Match Ready every position in the women’s game gets the full neck dose, alongside priority tackle-technique work. The programme is the same; the progression is simply followed by everyone, not just the forwards. Start at stage 1 regardless of experience, because neck strength varies widely between players and isn’t predicted by how strong you are elsewhere.