All Blacks: Size matters, as does speed and staying power

The old saying that rugby is a game for everyone was really a nice way of saying that fuller-figured men could play their part.

But these days, the fat athlete has been eradicated, or all but eradicated, from the All Blacks.

Most athletes who were on tour with the All Blacks in Europe five years ago will now be leaner and as a consequence, faster, fitter and more powerful.

"Since the start of professionalism there has been a constant growth in strength, size, speed, power and leanness," says All Black condition coach Nick Gill. "We have reached the point now where we have extremely big guys who are very lean. We have got one in the group who is not lean enough, whereas five years we would have had, maybe, 10.

"An average forward is about 110kg with no body fat. Five years ago, your average forward would have been 107kg with a little bit of body fat. When you are carrying body fat, you are carrying luggage. It doesn't do anything for you. When you don't have it, you can probably finish stronger because you have functional muscle."

One of the key differences between the athletes now and the men who were with the All Blacks in 2004, is their explosive power. The All Blacks of today are clocking the same times despite being significantly bigger.

"I think they would be similar but they would be a lot bigger, which is why the injuries now are more significant," says Gill. "We have bigger people running just as quick. Instead of having one Jonah Lomu, you now have a lot of big fast people.

"Back in the day, Terry Wright was very quick. Joe Rokocoko is probably as quick, not faster, but 25kg bigger."

This increased size has led to increased strength. The strongest players today are stronger than the strongest five years ago. In fact, Gill says that across the board players continue to become stronger.

His challenge is ensuring balance. The danger of acquiring muscle mass is that it impacts on speed and agility and the ability to go the distance on the park.

"We have the mindset that we want stronger, leaner, faster, more powerful athletes. We want them bigger, too, but only if they can retain their speed and explosiveness and ability around the park.

"We don't want big heffalumps who can't finish 80 minutes. If the individual is in a position that requires absolute speed - like a winger - then that's their weapon. So no matter what else happens, they have to remain fast or get faster. Every position has priorities."

The inference here is that other countries are simply building bigger men. They want bodies that can be effective at the cleanout but not necessarily add much to the ball-in-hand game plan.

The All Blacks have evolved their training methods and nutrition habits to reflect their goals. Weight training is designed with the specific game skills in mind, while even the testing is more relevant to the game.

These days the players are sprint tested over 10m, 20m and 30m, as the research shows these are the typical sprints they will make in the game.

"It's all about education and players' eating habits," says Gill on the reasons behind the evolution. "Most of our guys will eat six times a day."