RWC: Meet Wales' secret weapon

Fitness coach Paul Stridgeon has been Wales' secret weapon at the Rugby World Cup. Photo / Getty

Meet Warren Gatland's secret weapon - Wales' fitness coach Paul Stridgeon.

Gatland has employed Stridgeon to provide an extra edge to his team and the former English representative wrestler takes his job seriously with some weird and wonderful innovations designed to help the Welsh go further than they ever have in a World Cup.

Known to players as 'Bobby', Stridgeon wrestled at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and was picked by Warren Gatland to replace Adam Beard, who left his post to join the Cleveland Browns NFL franchise in June.

Ask insiders at the Welsh camp for the secrets to their success and the name 'Bobby' quickly comes up.

He has a reputation as a joker - he entered the gym wearing the Scorch the Dragon mascot suit last week and claims he can levitate above the pavement whilst holding on to a road sign.

But according to Gatland, Stridgeon pushed the Welsh players to new limits at pre-World Cup fitness camps in Switzerland and Qatar, with paramedics even put on standby.

"The biggest day is always the one preceding the rest day," said Stridgeon. "The boys get up in the morning, do some monitoring, tell us how they feel on the iPad and weigh themselves for any fluctuation in weight. We have our most intense session of the week - about 50 minutes - after lunch, then cryotherapy."

Wrestling-style grappling is a key component of Stridgeon's training, aiding tackling and the core strength needed at the breakdown.

But at Wales' supposedly haunted team base in Surrey, the coach - whose nickname comes from Adam Sandler's character in the film The Waterboy - has been taking his duties to new levels.

"As support staff, we deal with anything," said Stridgeon. "A little team talk before they go to bed - "listen, if the ghost comes, just give us a call".

"Dan Lydiate saw a big figure at the end of his bed with a massive beard. We thought it was Jake Ball but somebody said Henry VIII. He managed to get back to sleep, but then Sam Warburton couldn't. They've moved rooms.

"Me and Gats go back to 2002. He gave me my first job at Wasps, so when he rang me it was a dream. There's a lot of trust and everyone is tremendously loyal. The culture is so strong. There are no egos."

The job ahead of Sunday's top-of-the-pool meeting with Australia has been made easier by a nine-day turnaround but Stridgeon said: "Our goal has always been to top the group."

- Daily Mail