'Trust us... we won't push you too far': Reassuring Lions message as injury scare dismissed
Lions assistant Robin McBryde has spoken about the need for Warren Gatland’s squad to quickly trust the level of preparatory work they are doing on the island of Jersey, the forwards coach going on to dismiss concerns regarding the fitness of Wales winger Louis Rees-Zammit.
It was spotted that the 20-year-old wasn’t kitted up fully for training on Tuesday and was instead wearing a compression legging, but any concern about his well-being has now been allayed. “He has trained fully today [Thursday],” confirmed McBryde at a lunchtime Lions media briefing. “It’s double day today so he will probably go as well this afternoon.”
If the idea of double training might sound alarm bells at the end of an already long season, the former Wales international assured that the players are getting the best care possible and that the balance being struck between work and rest is best practice given the experience of previous Lions tours that Gatland and his backroom staff have.
That work/rest balance might not yet have found its level regarding McBryde himself as he mentioned he only managed a brief dip in the sea on Wednesday, a non-training day for the squad. But he outlined the message that Gatland has been putting across to the Lions, insisting that player welfare at this time of year is foremost in their thoughts.
“I didn’t stray from the hotel, I’d too much work on my plate. I managed to slip out and jump in the sea for five minutes and that was it,” said McBryde, reflecting on Wednesday’s down day and the importance of the Lions striking a balance between work and rest.
"When I was in the Six Nations camp later, he came to two sessions and was shaking everyone’s hand and I just avoided him"
– Extraordinary revelation from the Lions' youngest pick since 1959#LionsRugbyhttps://t.co/F8a0avei4p
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 15, 2021
“It’s vital. You have got to get the balance right and with the amount of work they got through on Monday and Tuesday, they needed a break. With all the monitoring that is going on, having worked with this group before with Bobby (Stridgeon, head of fitness), with Prav (Mathema, head of medical) and obviously with Warren (at Wales), there is no one better really in being mindful of looking after the players.
“Warren has said time and time again, ‘Listen, trust us as a very good coaching team, a good strength and conditioning team, we won’t push you too far‘. It’s getting that balance and those teams, having worked with them in the past, I have never experienced any team that can build that bond, that trust between the players better really so getting that balance of hard work but knowing that those sessions aren’t going to go too long and everything is being monitored, we’re not going to push you too far, having that trust amongst the players is vital really.
“Yesterday, I know they went off and did various things, whether it was golf or whether it was the beach, whether it was exploring some tunnels or whatever, that is vital really to keep everyone fresh mentally as well, get out of the hotel. As coaches I wasn’t as fortunate as that, there is too much work to do. We will have another couple of days off while we are here but it was good for the players to get out.
“It’s vital to build that cohesion up, to build that understanding. You are going to be chasing your tail if you don’t get that work done now, bed a few things into the players. It will be another challenge when the players that aren’t here join us. Hopefully, the players that are here now will be able to bring those other players up to speed as and when they join the camp.”
Asked about the reception the Lions have had so far in Jersey, McBryde added: “It has been great. The staff in the hotel can’t do enough here. We had Monday and Tuesday and they were both hot days so we managed to enjoy the weather and get through some hard graft. Yesterday stayed dry. Today is really the first time we have experienced some Scottish or Welsh or Irish weather. But it was good.
“Again, it was a matter of rolling up your sleeves and getting through it and the players responded great. I’m looking forward to the next week or so we are here. Maybe I will manage to get out of the hotel myself at some stage.
“We are here to work hard above anything else because when you think of the schedule from after the Japan game, we travel to South Africa, we’re straight into a working week, we have a game on the Saturday and then it’s Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, pretty relentless so the work that we do here and the principles that we put in place they have got to be pretty much nailed on by the time we are leaving here because there is no time to waste really when you consider that schedule.”
The Ireland boss has had his say on speculation he will be working in South Africa next month #LionsRugby
https://t.co/uixeQzo6yE— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 15, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
This is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.
21 Go to commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
2 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to comments