George North saw gremlins in 2015 pre-season running - now Paul Stridgeon aims to make Wales even fitter
Paul Stridgeon is confident of delivering the fittest ever Wales squad for the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
The reigning Six Nations Grand Slam champions, who are on a record 14-match winning run, are heading to Switzerland and Turkey in the build-up to the tournament that also features warm-up matches versus England and Ireland.
Stridgeon, the vastly experienced head of performance who has also worked for the Lions, told WRUTV: “We have had a good run in the last year with 14 wins from 14 games and it feels as if we have been planning for this World Cup as soon as the last one ended.
“We know that whenever we get the boys we see an improvement in fitness, intensity training, how they flow and decision making. The longer we have them the better and this is the longest time in the World Cup cycle which is perfect.
“A lot of focus is strength and conditioning and we get a lot of weights in there with four or five weights sessions a week. Currently, we are focussing on speed work keeping everything nice and powerful.
Head of Performance Paul 'Bobby' Stridgeon explains how Wales are planning to arrive at #RWC2019 in optimal condition 🇯🇵 Bydd Cymru'n cyfuno hyfforddi ar uchder (y Swistir) ac mewn gwres (Twrci) yn yr haf. pic.twitter.com/WGFwfBoDXK
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏴 (@WelshRugbyUnion) June 14, 2019
“We are integrating this with skills sessions with the coaches, static skills and a lot of hand-eye coordination work. In 2105 we went to Switzerland and that was our high altitude camp so we live high and get all the benefits of living at altitude and then come back down to train.
“If you train at high altitude your training sensitivity is heightened, so we go back down the mountain, train hard and then go back up to sleep. We then come back and have two games with England and then a week without a match. That is when we go to Turkey for our heat stress camp. In 2015 we went to Doha.”
Head coach Warren Gatland has previously explained why he has chosen Switzerland and Turkey to prepare the players. He said: “The Switzerland one is altitude training, the idea is that we sleep high and train low.
“The players will come down every day to train and it’s about increasing the blood plasma and the red blood cells. We got some really good results from going to Fiesch in 2015, so we’re returning back there.
“As for the warm weather, we’ve looked at a really good camp in southern Turkey. It’s a new camp, the facilities there are outstanding. That’s where we’ll look to get some of the heat stress in pretty humid and hot conditions.”
🏴 Here is Wales' 42-man training squad for the 2019 @rugbyworldcup, which includes two uncapped players in prop Rhys Carre and wing Owen Lane 🔴 Mae'r pâr o Gaerdydd wedi cynrychioli @cardiff_blues, Cymru D20 a D18 gyda'i gilydd. #HWFN pic.twitter.com/Om9fUxVAPP
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏴 (@WelshRugbyUnion) April 30, 2019
Lions wing George North remembers those Doha sessions. “It was pretty savage and it was horrendous to run in the heat for the bigger guys. It was the hardest pre-season I had to do.
“I went to places no man should go to and I saw gremlins when I was running! That is pre-season and you are not there for long. We are doing skills while fatigued.”
WATCH: Wales boss Warren Gatland’s unveiling as Lions head coach for a third consecutive tour
Comments on RugbyPass
The value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
10 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
10 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
51 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
54 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
54 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to comments