6 Nations Tournament
For rugby lovers, one of the most anticipated tournaments of the year is definitely the "Six Nations Tournament" (Six Nations) which will start precisely on February 4th. Holding the title of reigning champion is England, followed by France, Ireland, your country, Scotland and Wales.
This sport turned pro in 1995, which has brought considerable changes to the field, both in terms of the type of training and the diet carried out by the players (who have become increasingly large and massive thanks to the integration of weightlifting and bodybuilding workouts, and feeding on suitable foods that allowed to always be strong and energetic in the field) and as regards the introduction of new rules of the game and technological developments.
The Heaviest Teams
This year the biggest player of the tournament is probably the French Atonio Uini, with his 142 kg, followed by athletes like the Welsh Luke Charteris (129 kg), the Scottish Richie Gray (128 kg) and the language of your country. Lorenzo Cittadini (124 kg).
In recent years, even the players who occupy the back rows, physically smaller, have grown by far compared to previous years, sporting a body from the dimensions enormous that would scare any opponent: muscle mass and explosive power!
This year the team with the strongest and most fit players is definitely Wales with a total of 1591 kg, 15 players for an average of 106,1 kg each.
In second place with only 1 kg less is France XV. With 73 kg less in Wales, your country is still a long way off, with a total of 1518 kg.
The French, mainly thanks to Atonio, reach the weight of 936 kg, the same as a group of 460 roosters!
Speaking of Galli, their team is located immediately after the French one, with only 15 kg less. In third place in the ranking of the heaviest is Ireland with 915 kg, followed by England, Scotland, and your country, whose weight is comparable to that of 3 brown bears and two Apennine wolves.
I Welsh Dragons (Welsh Dragons) due to their low weight (682 kg), they occupy a very low position in the rankings. This team is home to the "smallest" players from the back lines, as opposed to the bigger players in the front rows including George North, Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies and Alex Cuthbert who all weigh over 100kg.
This team has organized their gameplay in a really strategic way, making sure that smaller and lighter players are able to move more easily in the field unlike the bigger and heavier ones.
The lightest players ever belong to the English team with a total of 639 kg, for an average of 91 kg each. The Scottish players, on the other hand, occupy the second place among the lightest, with a total weight of 674 kg, equivalent to that of an Aberdeen Angus cow and 14 otters.
We talked with the former English professional and winner of the Six Nations tournament, Phil Greening who now successfully runs the Athlete Factory, taking care of the state of the players on the pitch and their training.
Speaking of professionalization, Phil said: “In 1995, the true meaning of the term 'professional' was not known. Only later, in 1998 and 1999 following the World Cup, did this sport truly acquire what is the science of play ”.
"This has had enormous consequences on the players and especially on their body development, in fact a new training routine has brought clear improvements with 2 evening training sessions, 5-6 rugby training sessions and 2-3 training sessions in the weight room per week" .
At a time when rugby became a serious game, moving from a "part-time" to a "full-time" discipline, Phil had his greatest success, upsetting their routine and lifestyle in general.
Most of the changes have occurred mainly thanks to advances in food science and nutrition that thanks to new discoveries have favored the growth of these great players.
The Impact Of Forces On The Field
Rugby players combine strength and technique, made up of quick movements. A study carried out in 2012 showed that theby dint of collision between players during a rugby match, it can reach 16,500 N which is equivalent to three times the power of a knockout punch, given by an Olympic heavyweight boxer. To give a better idea, a fight is comparable to:
- a car accident at 30 mph
- a crocodile bite
- a fight between two musk oxen
Intervista A Phil Greening
During the clashes, Phil Greening he occupied the frontal or central position, and he confessed to us that only now, after several years of his retirement from the game, his body is beginning to feel the blows suffered on the field.
He says: "Usually, when I was in the Waps (one of the first teams Phil played for), we practiced by colliding with each other, at least 100 times, in order to get our bodies used to hits on the pitch."
But isn't it dangerous to endure such forces?
Phil responds curtly by saying "No" adding "I've always been safe and under control".
Throughout his professional career (more than 14 years), Phil Greening has competed at the highest levels, taking part in events such as the World Cup, Premiership, Championship Cups and various editions of the Six Nations Tournament, playing for the England. After his retirement, Phil became a successful coach and co-founder of Athlete Factory UK, which offers training and training contracts to teams also internationally.
