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'It was a light bulb moment' - Will Skelton reveals exactly how he went from 148kg to 135kg
A slimmed down Will Skelton could be heading back to Australia to bid for a World Cup squad place after using a weight loss App to transform himself with Premiership champions Saracens.
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Skelton has dropped from 148kgs(23.3st) to 135kgs(21.2st) and admits he could end up even lighter thanks to the programme he is following which has been devised by a nutritionist and utilizes the MyFitnessPal App.
Skelton, who won the last of his 18 caps nearly two years ago, knew he was heading into test exile by signing a two year deal with Saracens and that ends in May, opening the way for his return to Australia in time for the 2019 World Cup campaign in Japan.
The giant lock weighs everything he eats and believes his performances this season are the direct result of his new diet and change of lifestyle. Skelton has been an inconsistent performer for the Wallabies and in Super Rugby but former World Cup winning coach Bob Dwyer has been delighted to see the positive effects of English rugby on Australia’s powerhouse lock and is calling for his country’s top players to improve their fitness levels.
For Skelton, a Wallaby recall is something he cannot control and he said: “You always feel the urge to play at the highest level and it hurt when I watched my boys lose against New Zealand, Argentina and South Africa and that was the sacrifice we made coming here because I wouldn’t be eligible. I haven’t had any conversations with Michael Cheika and there a lot of good players there at the moment. This is my final year of my current contract at Saracens and at this point there may be a few options to go back home, but I have left that to my agent.
“Last year I had a poor season by my standards even though I won the Premiership I felt a bit empty. I am just making the most of my opportunities and I am fully committed to Sarries. I had my first pre-season without being injured and I just trained hard. I am eating the same food just tracking what I am consuming and having a better outlook. I was 148kgs and now 135kg at the moment and I have more bounce on the field and feel I can do more on the pitch. This is the best shape and best I have ever felt.
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“I have a lot more energy and can keep up with the boys and your standards go up. I spoke to the staff about my weight after the summer and it was a light bulb moment. Then I had a chat with my wife and set some goals. I didn’t have a good season last season and wanted to knuckle down and have a good start to this season.”
Thanks to specialist advice from his nutritionist supported by Saracens strength and conditioning team, the slimmer Skelton as not only lost weight, he has changed his whole attitude to food.
The 6ft 8ins former Waratahs lock explained: “I am using an App – MyFitnessPal – and not feeling hungry because I can have a donut or some chocolate as I have tracked my food intake.
“We get breakfast and lunch here at the club and we get plain options and I weigh my carbs, protein and it gets pretty easy because the trainers are supporting me although the boys so give me a bit of stick, which is normal. For lunch I will have chicken breast weighed and then weigh sweet potato plus veggies and that is my lunch which is put into my App.
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“I am eating 2,500 calories a day and on game day its 3,200. I load up in the back end of the week for games. Because I have had a big weight shift everyone is pointing the finger at me and there are bigger things in the world than how much weight I have lost!
“I am not too worried about my weight and it’s now about performance and it will be a case of how far we can take it without it being too drastic. I have a nutritionist outside the club and my wife found her and it was to get someone to take an objective view and it’s been the backbone of how much weight I have lost. She helped me through the process and onto the App.”
Skelton’s positive attitude and improved play will be noted by the Wallabies management and he added: “When we signed here it was with the goal to learn as much as I could and get better as a player. I have learnt so much -set piece, kicking game – and I am more alert now around World class players. England have a training camp and we lose half our squad! It shows the calibre of player we have here.
“I like the short sharp intense training and found the other stuff – chilled and relaxed – around the squad and we were all working towards the same goal. I get serious but I am a joker around the club and I fit in here”.
Comments on RugbyPass
Exciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
11 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
3 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
3 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
3 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
11 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
26 Go to comments