Weight watchers

The Blues have been permitted to rip into their turkey at Christmas, on the condition they convert protein into muscle mass.

It's all part of their bigger is better mantra which has seen the emphasis placed firmly on strength work in the early pre-season training programme.

Unlike their Australian counterparts, New Zealand's top players aren't afforded an extended window where they can develop core strength at the gymnasium.

It's not as if the Blues were obviously out-muscled by any opponent this year. Their problems lay more in the inability to execute the basics and maintain their accuracy.

But coach Peter Sloane is aware that many of his young squad would benefit enormously from an intense period of strength and conditioning ahead of what will inevitably be another physical campaign.

Sloane says: "The players don't get a quality window during the year to address that (time in the gym). This is the biggest window they get so the first few weeks we put the emphasis very much on strength and conditioning. In our case we have a lot of young boys in our squad and they don't have a long history in the gym with their strength work."

With so much hard work having already been put in and the first game still 10 weeks away, the old chestnut of burn-out could surface before long.

This time of year presents all five Kiwi Super 12 coaches with a very fine line to tread. It is the only opportunity in the crammed calendar where players can train without having to taper their efforts for weekly matches.

But judging the workload can be problematic and in the past some players have complained of fatigue coming into the opening rounds of Super 12.

Sloane is confident that having effectively learned through trial and error, the Blues will not fall into the trap of leaving their best form on the training paddock.

Perversely, helping the Blues is the non-availability of their All Blacks until the end of January. It means the Blues will only have three weeks with all their players before opening their campaign against the Highlanders in Dunedin on February 25.

Sloane is still undecided as to whether it is a blessing or a curse, but seems to be veering towards the former on the grounds it will preserve the longevity of his test stars' careers

He says: "You learn every year, no matter if you are winning or if things aren't going so well. We have done a lot of fun activities this year to break things up a wee bit. It's about getting the right balance.

"Our squad, unfortunately or fortunately, won't be together until January 31. We want to support the All Black boys and give them an extended break. It's a bit awkward to manage, we've just got to work around it. Having so many players out means it is going to be a brief full-squad period before we play our first game - it should be the best thing for the players."

There is a second advantage to having the All Blacks out of the picture - fringe players will get used to holding more responsibility.

In what could be construed as an admission of relying too heavily on senior pros in the past, Sloane says more effort will be made to utilise every member of the squad.

"I think we've got more awareness," says Sloane. "While the older boys like to be out there all the time, we have 28 players and have to find a balance and monitor that. A week off freshens people up. The game has changed and we know what impact players can have coming off the bench. It is a hard role to play but a very important one."

At this stage only Derren Witcombe, who had surgery on his shoulder recently, is expected to be unavailable for the opening game. Carlos Spencer, Steve Devine and Justin Collins have all come through early training well.


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