How to build a rugby player (Part 1) | Page 2 | Daily News

How to build a rugby player (Part 1)

Going through a line out routine
Going through a line out routine

Night has fallen on a toe-numbing English winter's day. In a manor house, where spirits of aristocrats are rumored to roam ancient hallways, are some of England's finest young athletes.

In a dimly lit, oak-paneled room at Bisham Abbey, 30 miles west of London, these 18 to twentysomethings have gathered for another chapter in their learning.

A grand-looking Victorian lady, framed in gold, peers down on the assembled players and coaches. On these same dark walls hang the works of Raphael. There is no mistaking that this 13th century building has a past.

But despite the antiquities which surround them, this evening is about what lies ahead.

These young men are preparing for a life of distinction. Only the brightest of athletic talents are taught how to cope with media interrogation and social media's potential pitfalls. The world of the sporting elite is no longer just about the physical, the tactical and the mental.

The players, members of England rugby's elite 32-man Under-20 squad -- some of whom were part of the Under 20's Six Nations grand slam-winning team last year -- are being told to think about how they would like to be perceived.

They are told to show their personality, but to use common sense, to assume nothing is private. It is important, he says, to inspire, to promote the sport, to be engaging, to smile. How peculiar it must be as a teenager to have such a destiny.

Such is their age, these athletes have known little other than a life of Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram. What to do with those juvenile tweets from years gone by, published with flippant immaturity? Delete. The millionaire stars of today could heed such advice.

This is the third day of a week-long training camp. They have already spent hours on a muddy field, perfecting set-pieces and pre-planned plays, and though daylight vanished some hours ago they are still focusing. There is little of the restlessness associated with the rambunctiousness of youth.

They want to be senior internationals. Listening intently to an hour-long lesson on etiquette and media customs is a fraction of what it takes.

ROBUSTNESS AND INDIVIDUALITY

England Rugby, the world's wealthiest national body, has invested heavily in its youth. The professionalism of the Under-20 set-up, one of the dominant forces in this age group, is the pleasing upshot.

Since its inception in 2008, England have won the Under-20s World Cup three times -- second to New Zealand's five on the all-time list.

No other country has such strength in depth. Despite having a number of players on tour with the senior squad last summer, they still negotiated their way to the World Cup final, admittedly suffering a heavy defeat to the Baby Blacks.

Harlequins' much-talked-about Marcus Smith -- the highest-paid teenager in world rugby -- Saracens' Nick Isiekwe, and Sale Sharks' Tom Curry -- his country's youngest debutant for 19 years but currently injured -- are all still eligible to play at this level, but are part of the senior set-up for the Six Nations, which starts this weekend.

Other than a rudimentary board of honors, which could be easily missed in the room called the "Great Hall," there is little evidence of past successes at the Abbey.

A trophy cabinet would be spilling with silverware -- they have won the U20s Six Nations six times since its formation 10 years ago.

Thirty-one of the seniors' initial 46-man 2018 Six Nations squad are U20s graduates.

Tackle training

But this is not a place to reminisce about the young-boys-made-good. The forthcoming Six Nations, the summer's World Cup, and the hard work ahead is all consuming.

Any youth set-up is a conveyor belt, a factory churning out talent, the pulleys in relentless motion season after season. A rugby player's early years move forward without rest.

But England Rugby, or those in the "pathway" as the country's elite player development program is referred to, are not producing clones. Gone are the days of a homogenous approach to coaching.

"We're trying to get each player to be really individual, charismatic, but it doesn't always have to be extroverted," says Robbie Anderson, the squad's psychologist.

England's current crop are a more introverted bunch than their predecessors of recent seasons. There are spiritual individuals, one of whom reads the Bible on the bus to matches. This is a squad which uses coffee breaks to discuss values.

"They key thing is robustness," says Anderson. "We don't want 23 players who fit into a certain framework.

"They need to ask themselves, 'Am I comfortable with who I am and have I got a support network around me?'

"There's people like me looking at the character, Keith Gee is looking at the development and education side, so if they hit a speed bump they're not completely and utterly lost."

The brilliant will reach the pinnacle, but even the good -- of which all in this squad are -- will likely earn a living in the professional game.

But, as Anderson warns, each player, no matter how dizzying their skill, is one injury away from ruination.

INJURIES, CONCUSSION, 'CANNON FODDER'

Another training day, another brutally cold January morning. Heads retract into shoulders like frightened tortoises, such is the air's bite. Only the active stay warm on a day such as this.

England's forwards, not yet fully evolved into granite-jawed beasts, are in the gymnasium making heavy weights look featherlight. The players come in various shapes and sizes, and that, to an extent, is still rugby union's charm.

Watching on is the squad's medical team. These are players in transition and must be treated carefully. Once kings at school age, many are now fledgling professionals, absorbing brutal hits from hardened club players.

Dr. Phil Riley explains that his team's role is not solely to mend. They are here to also prevent and educate.

"Most of them have left school, where they were important, big players, and have gone to a club environment where they're expected to turn up every day and perform every day and are used a little as cannon fodder," he says.

"They go from being less susceptible to injury, because they are the biggest players, to more susceptible.

"We work with our strength and conditioning team and get to know the players well -- their injury history, the problems they've faced in the past -- and try to develop appropriate training programs, medical programs, and rehab programs to either prevent first injury or prevent second injury."

Concussion, of course, is still rugby union's biggest problem. The Rugby Football Union's most recent annual injury audit revealed that concussion accounted for a quarter of match-day injuries.

During the last five years laws have been changed, protocols enhanced, players educated and medics empowered. All of this, says Riley, has brought a "sea change" in coaching culture.

"We haven't got it right," admits Riley. "But we're working towards identifying it, managing it and removing players when there's concern."

SECRET CALLS, SHOWING LEADERSHIP

While the forwards are in the gym, the squad's backline -- the speedsters, the creatives -- are a short stroll away in the Abbey, thinking up strategies to outwit the opposition. In an hour or so, the two groups will trade places.

Pre-planned moves are being written into books. Come Friday night against Italy in Gorizia, these theories will come as naturally to them on the field as flying is to birds. Or that is the plan.

Each move has a name, ones which can't be printed here for fear of giving rivals an advantage. To the uninitiated, the players are talking in riddles. Incongruous nouns are thrown into the middle of sentences. Raised eyebrows can be the only reaction of those not in the know.

They scribble, they whisper and then they openly discuss.

What is notable is that it is the players who dominate the conversation. A coach, in this instance James Ponton, poses questions, but it is the players who must find solutions. Leadership is a word often repeated inside the camp and here it is in practice.

"There's a lot of onus on the players to know our roles in all of the things that we are doing," says Will Butler, a center in his first professional contract with Premiership club Worcester Warriors.

PLANNING, PLANNING, PLANNING

Though yet 10am, the day is already some hours in the making for the players and coaches.

Two hours ago they took their wellness and hydration tests (urine samples). These examinations can tell coaches and doctors much of what they need to know about each individual (the quality of their sleep, their nutritional needs, muscle soreness and hydration, for example).

Breakfast has been devoured and "unit meetings" conducted -- there will be a further two team meetings before the day's end.

Such a detailed approach creates data. Lots of it. The man absorbing this stream of statistics is strength and conditioning coach Robin Eager. There is a wealth of information to filter, he says. It is non-stop.

A typical day will involve copious amounts of planning. He will be in the gym, getting the players stronger and more powerful, and he will discuss with the coaches how best to organize sessions. How hard should a player be pushed? Eager will have the answer.

"If the planning process is good, my communication with coaches can be 'yes, we're on plan' and that's all they need to know," he says, admitting that neither coaches or players enjoy deciphering spreadsheets.

The majority of his time will be spent liaising with Premiership clubs, for England only have these players at their disposal for 13 weeks a year. The responsibility of getting a player ready for international rugby rests not solely with the union.

- CNN


Add new comment