How to build a rugby player | Daily News

How to build a rugby player

A training session in progress
A training session in progress

(Part 1 appeared last Saturday)

BEEFING UP, MOVING COMPETENTLY

International rugby is a gladiatorial contest. Since the sport went professional in 1995, players have become bigger, stronger and faster. The forwards in the New Zealand side that won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 weighed on average 15st 9lb (99.5 kg) a man. The biggest forward at the 2015 World Cup, France's Unini Atonio, topped the scales at 22st 12 lb (145kg).

Compared to the behemoths of today, those playing 30 years ago look like figurines. Players' frames must now withstand one bone-crunching tackle after another. Is there pressure on young players to beef up too rapidly?

"It's easier to build strong kids than it is to repair broken men," Eager says.

"They've got to be able to move competently first before we try getting them significantly stronger through lifting heavier weights. It's giving them a coat of armor so they can start to tolerate the demands as they progress.

"It's easy to get people to body build, but they won't be good rugby players. They won't be resilient to the demands of the sport.

"You have to have an element of patience, particularly with some of the second-row forwards. It generally takes them longer, as they tend to be the skinny, lanky kids, so there's coordination issues and, generally, there's 20kg to put on.

"If you want to accelerate it, fine, but you have to understand there are potential pitfalls."

He adds: "Strength and conditioning would be an easy job if we said we've got to get all props to a certain weight or a certain level of fitness.

"But that's not realistic and that's what makes it interesting -- you've got to make decisions all the time based on what's going to make an individual excel in the one or two things which will potentially make him an international player.

"The flip side is, what made an international player five years ago isn't necessarily what's going to make these guys international players in five years' time. Who knows what that looks like, I definitely don't."

INTENSITY AND STRESS - WHAT IT TAKES TO BE GREAT

Refueled after lunch -- the squad will shovel down 40 to 50 chicken breasts a day -- the players head outside to put the morning's theory into practice. Code names are yelled and each player will scuttle into position for a choreographed move. It's a dance of sorts, a bruising ballet.

Steve Bates, the RFU's performance manager and international performance coach, says little on the sidelines, leaving his lieutenants to bellow orders. Communicating with the coaches via ear pieces are the strength and conditioning coaches. There is a set time for each move. This is no place for ambiguity.

As the players go through what is called a "game test" session, the size of this operation is more visible than ever. There's a kit man, two analysts standing on scaffolding filming, four coaches, a media manager, a four-man medical team and two strength and conditioning coaches.

The attention to detail should come as no surprise.

After all, England are the proponents of "earthquake training," exposing academy players to a simulated earthquake to test their ability to think on their feet, communicate and work together.

Another activity conducted was a "Big Brother" weekend where a select group had to perform tasks under the microscope of all-seeing cameras -- an exercise to develop self-awareness and support of others.

The next generation are being taken out of their rugby bubble. English rugby has huge potential, and it wants to fulfill it.

Today's high-intensity session aims to test the players' stress tolerance. It is the ones who can cope with playing under such fire, says Bates, who usually make it through the system.

"What we're looking for from players in this environment is more about their mental application, a resilience to keep bouncing back, a toughness to really fight for their position and when things are tough in training," says Bates, who joined the Under-20s set-up as head coach last August.

"There are a lot of guys who are probably physically in the ball park, there's quite a few guys who can play, but there aren't many guys who are physical and can play under this stress.

"It's our job to develop that playing under stress, with a winning element to it. Some of the best players can cope with that easily. You can spot those characteristics in the very, very good.

"But playing under stress is also something that can be developed by being put under those conditions for longer periods of time consistently."

Bates, a former London Wasps and England scrum-half, is the man credited with unearthing Jonny Wilkinson, arguably his country's greatest player.

The 54-year-old was a player during the beer-swigging amateur era, when international players would train with their compatriots a few days before a Test, combining rugby with full-time jobs. Much has changed since then, admits Bates with a wry smile.

"For me, the thing that stands out in this environment is how much the individual is the focus of attention. The difference is so marked," he says.

"All the analysis, the GPS stuff, the dietary stuff, is all athlete centered. How do we get the best out of our players and use the technology and the resources that are available to improve individuals?

"The mentality of everybody in the game is push, push, push. The inquisitiveness, the desire to push the game forward, is as high as I've ever known it."

Bates' three coaches -- Ponton, Richard Blaze and Anthony Allen -- joined the Under-20s in December and are part of England's new coach development programme, an agreement between the RFU and Premiership Rugby which offers young club coaches the experience of working in an international environment.

Bates is the experienced eye and his squad isn't implicitly following a plan devised by Eddie Jones' senior set-up. This is not the rugby equivalent to Barcelona's La Masia.

They have access to Jones' ideas and methods. The Australian, says Bates, is "outstanding" in his attention to detail on the individual. They have also exchanged ideas with coaches from other sports, most recently Britain's boxing team. His aim, says Bates, is to produce players who are adaptable, who can play "for any number of coaches."

CALORIES, CALORIES, CALORIES

It is nearly time to rest completely. Another challenging day is nearing its conclusion and players and coaches are devouring plates of carefully planned carbohydrates and proteins.

Good nutrition, of course, is essential if these players are to blossom. Only with the right fuel can they thrive under pressure and outlast the opposition.

Centre Butler says he is now able to maintain his power, speed and strength in the final 20 minutes of a match, the period where England aim to kill off tiring opponents, thanks to a better understanding of what he needs to eat and when.

At times, he feels he is just endlessly consuming calories. It can be testing, Butler says, but it can also be fun.

"There are protein hits every three hours, having six meals a day," says the 19-year-old.

"The majority of these camps are quite intense so there's a lot of eating going on and the nutritionist does a very good job in keeping everyone happy."

Nutritionist Andres Kasper ensures the players' dietary needs are met, formulating detailed menus for the catering staff to serve up.

A player's intake reads like that of a bear's before hibernation. Protein levels are prescribed on an individual basis, but equates to about 20-40g five to six times a day, dependent on body weight.

After a tough training session, the squad will consume, says Kasper, in the region of 2-2.5kg of cooked pasta at lunch and dinner. There is also Greek yogurt for easy protein hits -- the squad will go through about 8kg tubs of the stuff per day.

As they refill and restore, the players aren't as earnest as they have been on the pitch and in meetings. They have loosened up. They chat, they joke. Reassuringly, they are not in habitual focus.

"There's that expectation that now you're an actual rugby player there's a responsibility of being an athlete and having high standards and not messing about on the training field because we don't have that much time together as a team," explains Butler. After dinner some will play table tennis in the games' room, others will receive treatment on aches and pains and a chosen few will analyze the day's training session and report back. Then it is to bed, to the on-site dormitories, to recover and rest before doing it again tomorrow. It is relentless. It is challenging. It is what it takes to become a great. – CNN


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