Ruben B.

CGA Player Residency: 2026, 18-Week Residency

Rugby Affiliation: Midleton RFC Seniors

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Trading Size for Technique

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Ruben Bigolin arrived at the Crusaders Global Academy Player Residency from Italy as one of the biggest props on any pitch he had played on, a trait that had carried him for years. He came to Rugby Park looking to sharpen the technical side of his game rather than lean further into his size and strength.

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Training with the Crusaders coaching staff gave Ruben a close look at what a genuinely high-performance environment demands, from the detail built into every set-piece session to the emphasis placed on recovery between training days. The exposure pushed him to think about his game in smaller, more deliberate pieces rather than relying on instinct alone.

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Building a Complete Front Rower

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Rebuilding the Fundamentals: A Monday set-piece session became a turning point for Ruben. Coach Grant told him directly that while his size and strength were assets, his technique needed to catch up, since he wouldn't always be the biggest player on the field. The feedback stuck, and Ruben pointed to it as the moment that changed how seriously he treated the technical side of scrummaging, including in areas outside rugby where he had previously leaned on strength as a habit.

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Applying Learning in Competitive Environments: Compared to the rugby he grew up with in Italy, Ruben found the Crusaders' approach far more physical, but also far more focused on the small details that build toward the bigger picture rather than jumping straight to the end result. One specific adjustment stood out: learning how far to stand from the base of the ruck. That spacing gave him significantly more time to read the play and decide what to do next, and it's the first thing he plans to bring back to his own team.

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High-Performance Habits & Personal Growth: One of the biggest surprises of the residency was how much value the Crusaders placed on recovery. Ruben's program included dedicated recovery sessions twice a week, a routine he hadn't prioritized before. Once he committed to it, he noticed the difference almost immediately, feeling far fresher heading into the back half of the training week.

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