Pie and pint a thing of the past as club players get diet advice
DAVID FERGUSON ([email protected])
THE new physique of Scottish rugby players was clear in the recent World Cup, but the Scottish Rugby Union yesterday turned the spotlight on to the nation's culture of beer and fry-ups in a bid to strengthen the amateur club game.

Lorraine Cullen, a sports nutritionist with the SRU, has worked in Australia and with the Scottish Institute of Sport, and was recently part of Scotland's Rugby World Cup squad in France. She has launched a new book, entitled Performance Nutrition for Club Rugby Players, sponsored by Baxters, the Scottish foodmakers, and while the aim is not necessarily to create bigger, more muscle-bound players, she explained how the techniques would improve the health of all ages of sportsmen and women, as well as the quality of rugby in Scotland.

"It's not about extremes," she insisted, "like going tee-total, or saying you can't eat pies anymore. It's just about a little education which we're finding at the professional and international levels is making a big difference to players' health and rugby ability.

"Players who rehydrate and recover properly, who have a proper diet, are less likely to suffer fatigue, and lose aerobic fitness in a
"Players who rehydrate and recover properly, who have a proper diet, are less likely to suffer fatigue, and lose aerobic fitness in a game, and so are better decision-makers. Changing attitudes to nutrition in Scotland will definitely improve performance, at all levels."

For over a century, rugby revelled in its image as the great social game, where the final whistle started the flow of beer pumps and meat pies invariably filled after-match requirements. Most clubrooms have their legendary tales of beer-fuelled lunches prior to kick-off or of players turning up for games 'fresh' from a night on the town.

Much has changed since rugby joined the professional ranks in 1995, and a new full-time focus on sports performance has spread through the rugby world, but Cullen admitted one of the most challenging aspects of improving the game had still been attitudes to diet.

"It's not just a Scottish problem," she insisted. "Australia are quite a bit ahead of us in sports nutrition and performance, but they still have alcohol abuse and obesity problems. It's possibly masked by the level of competition at the top end and the fact they are so much more focused than we are in Scotland on fitness, nutrition and performance from a young age. We probably have a broader population or culture that does not put nutrition first, or doesn't understand its importance.

"A pie at football games or getting players away from alcohol straight after a game are tough habits to break, but when you start to get a few thinking about it that encourages others and I've seen a big change in that regard in the last couple of years."

As the whole shape of rugby players has changed, from the lardy misfits left out of football teams to fitter and more physically imposing athletes, so the message of improved diet does appear to be spreading through rugby. Edinburgh Northern, who play in Scottish rugby's 'non-leagues', are just one to change their post-match meal from pies to pasta, and many clubs also now serve carbohydrate-intensive meals on training nights.

The relatively newfound ambition of schoolchildren to aim for a career in rugby has ensured more and more move into the club game intent on shunning old traditions in favour of taking on advice from professionals on how to get an edge on their competition.

Cullen added: "I hope the book can help by providing the kind of education many players have just never had. It's not about changing club rugby or what makes it great. We're not saying abstain from drinking, but think about hydrating and recovering properly from training or a match before having a few drinks and see the difference, especially in guys fitting studies or jobs around their rugby.

"It's not about extremes, but being sensible. By doing that, hopefully we will see players change their lifestyles a little and improve their performance, make themselves fitter, enjoy the game more and achieve more aims. And, obviously, it's going to benefit the Scottish population in the long-term."

CASE STUDY 1: THE PRO PLAYER
ANDY HENDERSON

Glasgow and Scotland centre, age 27

"Diet and nutrition has helped me to get my weight up to compete in international rugby. I weighed about 14 stones in my late teens and I'm now over 16 stones and I don't think you could survive the intensity as a professional rugby player now if diet and nutrition were not an important part of your daily life.

"We had as many as six or seven sessions a day with Scotland preparing for the World Cup, so I had to keep a close eye on what I was taking in to recover properly and keep the weight on.

"It may not be as intense at club level, but the principles are the same - to get the most out of a weights session you need the right fluids and food. Club players right down the leagues are doing more work in the gym compared to when the game was totally amateur so they need to know what to take to maximise the effects of their training.

"It all goes together - food, nutrition, fitness, strength and conditioning, skills - at all levels of the game. It is up to every individual how seriously he wants to take the game, but good nutrition advice will help every level."

This article was posted on 15-Nov-2007, 16:00 by Hugh Barrow.