Speed for a rugby player is the one thing that can not be combated with any other physical attribute.

Which means that basically the faster you are the more ability you are going to have to beat your opposition number.  Now obviously speed is relative and you would not expect a prop to be as fast as a winger but if that prop is faster than his opposite number that could lead to a mismatch at some point in the game.

With defences becoming stronger and stronger, as well as more and more organised the ability of the true speedster has been negated a little.  For speed to really take effect and change things in a match, you need space for that person to run.  As I said with modern defences the amount of open spaces has become severely reduced during a game, but for that one instance when space does become available, then you want some speedsters.

There are 3 main speed elements to rugby fitness:

1. Acceleration
2. Top Speed
3. Speed Endurance

Accleration is key when getting past the outside shoulder of a defender or quickly getting into support on a line break from one of your team.  In close quarter defence it’s the thing that can make a difference or get you out of trouble.  A great example of a player with blistering acceleration was the England and Great Britain dual code legend Jason Robinson.