Club rugby players in Scotland are now able to access practical tips and nutritional advice designed to maximise their performance.

Sports nutritionist Lorraine Cullen, who was dietician with the Scotland Rugby World Cup squad, has written a performance nutrition manual designed for the club player.

She launched it today with the help of Scotland and Glasgow Warriors players, centre Andy Henderson and hooker Fergus Thomson, alongside club players – centre/wing Stevie Gordon; wing/full-back Sean Murray and flanker Rory Hamilton (all Glasgow Hawks); and lock Jon Paine and centre Chris McKay (both GHA).

Some 3,000 copies of the manual have been produced thanks to support from Baxters, the official training partner of Scottish Rugby.

In the manual Scotland coach Frank Hadden said: “Sports nutrition is more than just eating healthily. It’s about promoting and supporting your physical hard work and effort on the field and in the weights room, allowing for body adaptations to occur, aiding recovery and allowing you to do it all again and achieve your personal training goals.”

Ken MacEwen, Scottish Rugby’s National Fitness Co-ordinator, said: “We felt there was a requirement for this kind of information to be available and relevant to club players and there’s certainly been a demand from clubs for support.

“At club level there is now real awareness of the need for good nutrition and hydration. The day of the stereotypical rugby player who went straight into the bar and had drinks of the alcoholic variety before refuelling properly is long gone.”

As if to illustrate his point, Edinburgh Northern, who play in Scottish Hydro Electric East League Division 2 have changed their post-match meal to pasta rather than pies that were served for generations.

Hawks’ vice-captain Stevie Gordon reckons the manual will be well received. “I think there’s not enough dissemination of knowledge. If people were actually fuelled properly and recovered properly then training would be of a better standard and the general standard of rugby would be better too.”

Kerr Arthur, Baxters Marketing Director, said the renowned soup producer had worked with both Cullen and MacEwen in producing its new Healthy Choice and Healthy Choice Chunky soups.

Copies of the manual will be sent shortly to all clubs.

This article was posted on 5-Nov-2007, 18:26 by Hugh Barrow.