Rugby World

WALES

CORY HILL times his arrival perfectly to provide a demonstration. We’re at the doors to the Wales team room at their Vale Hotel base, but before entering in the morning all players must go through a series of wellness checks. Two tablets are set up on the left with a questionnaire covering their sleep, energy levels and mood. They also report stiffness or soreness, as well as any signs of illness, and step on the scales for the daily weigh-in.

On the right are two measuring charts that look a little more complicated, which is where Hill steps in. First he places his foot on the grid perpendicular to the wall, bends his leg and touches his knee to the wall, noting the number his foot was positioned at to make contact. This is to check ankle mobility. Then he steps onto a box with a grid at the front, bends over and stretches down, noting the number his hands reach. These scores are entered into another tablet.

It takes a couple of minutes to complete the two checks – you don’t want to keep players from their breakfast for too long! All the information

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Rugby World

Rugby World2 min read
Hail To The Chief
WHAT HAPPENS when one of the most marketable young rugby stars leaves his sport to sign on with the back-to-back Super Bowl winners? Well, we’ll find out! Louis Rees-Zammit, the former Wales and British & Irish Lions winger who is still just 23, made
Rugby World2 min read
Herbst Fiasco Was Human Error
MOST REFEREES don’t like to grab headlines or have their officiating put under scrutiny. Usually, the best compliment a ref can get is for no one to notice they were at the game and there’s nothing about them in the media. When officials do make the
Rugby World4 min read
Rising Stars
Age 21 (18 May 2002) Born Leeds Position Flanker Club Exeter Chiefs Country England When did you first play rugby? I grew up in Bath and then moved to Birmingham before starting rugby at St Mary’s College in Wellington, NZ. What attracted you to the

Related Books & Audiobooks