All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster, left, says the management team is comfortable with their plans to combat Japan's searing heat. Photo / Jason Oxenham
All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster, left, says the management team is comfortable with their plans to combat Japan's searing heat. Photo / Jason Oxenham
The All Blacks will be urged to wear hats when roaming around Rugby World Cup host cities in Japan to protect themselves from the effects of searing heat.
The team face the daunting prospect of taking on the likes of South Africa in pool play in energy-sapping temperatures of upto 30C and high humidity.
Some of the team's biggest opponents have already left their home countries in a bid to get used to the muggy conditions that await in Japan's host cities.
The Wallabies have had a training camp in new Caledonia, Ireland headed to Portugal, Wales to Turkey, England to Italy and South Africa will arrive in Japan on September 7, 14 days before they take on the All Blacks in the sides' respective tournament opener.
In contrast, the All Blacks will prepare in Auckland and then Hamilton – where they play Tonga on Saturday night – before travelling to Japan on September 9. Daytime highs in both cities hovered around 16C last week.
Assistant coach Ian Foster joked Hamilton had a "great climate".
But he stressed the All Blacks were well aware of the potential issues the heat could pose in Japan, saying it had been a priority for strength and conditioning coach Nic Gill and other members of the side's off-field wellness team.
All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster, left, says the management team is comfortable with their plans to combat Japan's searing heat. New Zealand Herald photograph / Jason Oxenham
"One part of managing the heat is making sure everyone doesn't spend all of their spare time wandering around without hats," Foster told the Herald on Sunday.
"We have worked a plan out around the heat. We have got a good period of time over there before the South African game so we have a chance to acclimatise as well.
"It is certainly hot at the start and then the temperatures will cool down. We have had to be very aware of what it will be like in the first couple of weeks."
Last week Tokyo-based dermatologist Tomoko Fujimoto said the All Blacks' build-up to the World Cup – including the fact much of it would be completed in New Zealand – could count against them.
He believed overseas athletes preparing for any competitions in Japan's high heat and humidity needed to prepare at least a month earlier in similar conditions to reduce the risk of heatstroke.
"It is a burden for your body if you move to a location where there is a very different average temperature," he told Reuters.
"It is possible that unless you are prepared enough, the [sweat] glands will not be working properly by the time of a match."
But Foster said he was very comfortable with the All Blacks' preparations.
"A pretty simple philosophy is that if you are fitter than you have ever been before, and if you can get fitter than other teams, then you can adapt to any situation," he said.
As well as ensuring players weren't exposed to sun for long periods without wearing hats, other initiatives the All Blacks would use were ensuring players stayed hydrated during matches and training sessions, and then cooled down after onfield activity.
"Adjustments" would be made to training schedules dependent on the heat.
"It is a balancing act," he said.
"While you have to get used to the heat, you also have to make sure that you are not losing conditioning for later in the tournament if you want to have any aspirations for winning the thing."
