Rugby questions.
Couldn’t really find a good rugby subreddit for beginner questions like this, so figured I’d ask here.
I just finished my first year playing club rugby in Florida. I’m a little old to be starting at 32, and unfortunately I broke my arm, so I missed most of the 15s season and only got to play a handful of 7s matches.
My team has hyped me up a little and said that with my athleticism, once I learn the game better I could develop into a solid back. I’m definitely still out of rugby shape, but ball in hand feels pretty natural to me and I’ve had some success beating defenders one-on-one.
What I’m really curious about are the “rugby steps” I see a lot of players doing. I come from an American football background, so I’m used to hard plants, quick cuts, jukes, and changing direction without much of a hop. I don’t really understand what the little jump/hop step I see rugby players use is accomplishing or why it would be better than just planting and making a sharp cut.
Is this something I should actually be practicing and adding to my game? I’m completely open to the idea but I just don’t understand the technique yet, but watching it, I feel like a hard open-field cut would be more difficult to defend than the hop-step style movement. As a defender, I also feel like a quick plant and cut would give me more trouble.
What am I missing about the rugby step, and what advantage does it give you over a traditional football-style juke or cut?