Ben John is a former Ospreys and Dragons rugby player turned rugby coach who now runs a rugby academy and has a monthly column in Sportin Wales’ magazine.

The rugby season is very long and it’s important we give our bodies a break, especially from the contact but also give our mind a break as well, taking some time away and doing other sports will refresh your mind and make you ready to go come pre-season.

As a kid I played every sport under the sun and here are my five sports to do outside of rugby that gets you refreshed and ready for the new season.

Squash is a very good one for the agility, reaction and hand-eye coordination, but also your ability to get into longer movements whilst staying balanced.

You need to read the picture and change direction quickly like a tackle, using your footwork in small little movements to get to the ball, getting long while staying strong because you’ll have to move again, and not just dive into it, be ready to move again.

Cricket is great for the hand-eye coordination, you need the ability to run in at pace, read the flight, under pressure, create a bucket with your hands and have soft hands too. If you don’t, it’s going to hurt.

In rugby we don’t practice catching much, it’s just expected, in cricket they spend loads of time doing it, it’s not just for fullbacks but your lineout options too, catching above your head if need be.

Netball and Basketball players, if you put a rugby ball in their hands their skillset is incredible. Wales’ Tomos Williams or Theo McFarland for Saracens have a Basketball background and their ability to move and catch the ball one handed is incredible.

A lot of the female rugby players who play netball can catch and pass quickly, away from their chest, from playing in a netball team environment.

With Athletics you don’t have to be a speed athlete, just join your local Harriers, do some 100-metre training. You might lose against the sprinters but it’s something for the long run, it makes a big difference learning how to sprint properly in a different setting.

With the jumping as well it’s a huge benefit, I was under 16s Welsh High-Jump champion which helped with my work under the high ball.

Touch or Tag rugby is big in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s hard with the fitness element, I wish I’d properly played it younger. It’s a great gateway for people both young and old to get involved in rugby.

You see people like Marcus Smith, you need to be creative with your footwork, throw in a goosestep to throw people off their feet and then hit that right option, or create those two on ones, done properly it’s a huge gain for any position.

The Rugby Trainer Academy

What I’ve based my academy on is spending 10 minutes each week working on an individual skill, it’s all online so you can do it anywhere in the world whether you’re on your own or with a training partner.

You can film the drills and then send it to me for feedback every week to get better and learn the skill. You can also learn specialisms like scrumhalf passing with Wales’ Ffion Lewis or attack breakdowns with British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton.

www.therugbytraineracademy.com