Fitness push looms
Cheika wants extra training for Wallabies
WALLABIES players will do additional conditioning sessions after their Super Rugby training over the next few weeks as part of Michael Cheika’s plan to get them ready for a high-intensity Bledisloe Cup campaign.
The subject of fitness in Australian rugby became a hot issue at the weekend after Wallabies captain Stephen Moore conceded players were coming out of Super Rugby not ready for Test duty. Cheika played down the issue as an excuse for June but addressing the gap between training at Super Rugby franchises and the Wallabies has become a major focus this year.
The Super Rugby franchises have shared training data with Wallabies staff this season and the discrepancy between the volume and intensity done by the five teams, and what levels Cheika wants for Test rugby has become very obvious. Moore said Australia could not “waste a day” and with two rounds remaining in Super Rugby and only the Brumbies playing in the finals, July will be used to pump extra work into Wallabies squad members.
Wallaby players will do four extra training sessions over the fortnight, on top of their Super Rugby commitments.
When the finals begin, the Wallabies players, minus the Brumbies for as long they’re in contention, will then go into a series of three camps: two in their home states, and one all together at a central location.
Players will then have a short break in early August before going into camp for the Rugby Championship in the Hunter Valley on August 6.
The first Bledisloe Cup game is in Sydney on August 19.
“To be fitter, faster and stronger, you are going to be better. Particularly fitter, and all the teams that are fit usually go well,” Cheika told Fox Sports this week. “It’s a simple idea. If we are fitter, we are going to be able to do better things for longer in a game.”
People have been gobsmacked by the idea Wallabies players could be “unfit” but they’re just not fit enough by Cheika’s standards. His style is to work players so hard for so long they’re able to be explosive in games, over and over again, through to the 80th minute.
It worked at the Waratahs and again with the 2015 Wallabies when Cheika had a long lead-in to the World Cup.
Many Super Rugby coaches, however, taper training before games to freshen players up and that leads to them turning up for Wallabies duties under the bar set by Cheika and staff as Testmatch ready.