No longer a game for all sizes
For many a year during the good old days of amateur rugby the belief was very much that it was a game for all shapes and sizes. However those days are a distant memory as rugby has slowly developed into a game for the big men.
Pick up a programme at any game today and you will find a stark trend developing. It is not only the forwards who are tipping the scales at 100kg plus, but also the majority of back-line players too. This is a reflection of the way the modern game is heading.
Rugby is a contact sport, centred around winning collisions: whether it is making a tackle, hitting a ruck or slamming into a maul, whoever wins the collision holds the upper hand. Simple physics will tell us that the bigger man, travelling at a greater speed, will win the collision.
It is for that reason we are starting to see bigger sides – and we are not just talking about the forwards, the backs are getting in on the act too. Take the likes of Alesana Tuilagi (113kg – winger), Seilala Mapusua (102kg – centre), Luke McAlister (102kg – centre) and Butch James (100kg – fly-half). These are not small men and they are not alone in the size stakes.
In the professional era players mix their rugby training with gruelling weights and conditioning programmes, with the specific aim of developing body mass whilst retaining agility and fitness levels. Players coming through academy systems are breaking into senior sides at a younger age, with their size not an issue.
Twenty-two All Blacks were withdrawn from the opening seven weeks of Super 14 action to be reconditioned – in other words to become fitter, bigger and stronger. Other sides will struggle to live with them on a physical basis, as they will just not have the size to compete.
‘Size is not everything’ you may be saying, as skills, speed and agility play a factor. Yet the new breed of player is a powerful combination of all the relevant qualities to play at the top end of the game, whilst being physically big. It is the advancements in the modern that era are forcing players to ‘beef up’ in order to compete at the highest level.
We can’t ignore the fact there are smaller players; the likes of Brent Russell, Shane Geraghty, and Phillip Burger come to mind, but if we are being honest they are a dying breed. Russell, for example, has struggled to break into the Stormers side since his switch from the Sharks.
If we stay in South Africa there is a clear focus on size, especially with Jake White’s Springboks. White has always favoured the bigger players, especially in his pack, the likes of Danie Rossouw, Pier Spies, and Bakkies Botha, all big physical men.
The attitude is that if you can overpower and out-muscle your opponent then you will win the game. To a large extent this is true, after all, you need a physically big pack in order to provide quality ball for the back-line. It just so happens most of the back-line players are now equal to their forward counterparts.
Size does not mean a lack of ability to play an expansive game, as players are adapting to all the demands of the modern game. However some coaches, no names mentioned, do prefer the more direct approach where they can fully utilise the size of their players. And we often see players selected on the basis of their size to fit into a specific game plan for a specific opponent.
So the reality is, like it or not, that the modern game of rugby is one for big players. Those who are not blessed with size are finding it harder and harder to make an impact at the highest level. There is no substitute for pace, yet if you don’t have a big enough pack to win you the ball there is no point having lightning fast smaller players in your side.
By Tighthead Thomas
