Donal Lenihan

THERE was a time when injury or an enforced absence from training due to work commitments – ah yes, the good old amateur days – resulted in a players weight ballooning. Not anymore. With so much time spent pumping iron in the gym and packing in the calories with protein shakes and supplements, the modern rugby player is on average two stones heavier than his counterpart twenty five years ago.

In the professional game power is king. From the time they get out of bed in the morning until they turn out the light at night, players are now constantly eating, consuming an average of 6000 calories a day.

As a result every player is now a magnified version of what his normal frame would carry in real life. Accepting that, it was still somewhat of a shock to learn that Welsh star Gavin Henson has shrunk by over three stone in nine months since his self imposed exile from the game. While it was inevitable that he would lose conditioning, the magnitude of his weight loss highlights the level of bulking up that players go through at present.

This has major ramifications for players after retirement and several now go through a routine which enables them to wean themselves off the treadmill on a gradual basis. Some, however, are so pleased to escape the regimented slog of constant training that they rebel in their new found freedom. That creates other problems. What they miss most is the camaraderie, banter and companionship of the dressing room.

In many respects the modern professional lives in a cocooned world of like-minded creatures and some are ill-equipped to cope with normal every day demands of normal life. Professional sport dictates that everything is mapped out for the player from dawn to dusk. Some find it difficult to cope without the support mechanisms that surround their everyday lives when their gear bag is no longer a constant companion.

The most difficult point is the start of the season after retirement. While the break from the dreaded pre season training camp comes as a most welcome relief, the problems start once the early season warm up games commence. Some players deliberately force themselves to stay away from attending any matches. Others, when they do attend go through that phase where they don’t know where to watch the game from – should they gravitate towards the injured or rested current players in the stand or should they sit next to the great unwashed and settle for life as a supporter?

It takes time.

Henson is blessed at the moment to be able to spend his time in the company of his two young kids and still enjoy the celebrity life with his partner Charlotte Church. The succession of injuries he has suffered since 2005 has taken its toll but deep inside he must harbour feelings of unfulfilled ambition. He has never played in a World Cup, for example. What is clear is that Wales need him as like many a player before him he is only fully appreciated when he is not there.

Even in his relatively short absence from the game the change in his makeup is such that it could take him ages before he is in a position to physically compete. So much of the current game is geared towards the collisions that it is impossible for the good small talent to survive. Simon Shaw was right when he said that there were too many gym monkeys in the game today. Players of Henson’s talent are sorely missed.