Training kit: Baby oil, shampoo

Shampoo and baby oil have become essentials in the training kit in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup as Japan’s unpredictable weather threatens to have a significant influence on the tournament.

The prospect of snap changes from dry to wet and back again, and in intense humidity, have coaches working on plans to cover every scenario.

“The big thing will be the ball. Humidity will be high and the ball will be wet, so skills will be important,” All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said.

Hansen has been happy just to soak the ball in water during training sessions to mimic wet conditions, but other teams have taken a more out-of-thebox approach.

Warren Gatland has admitted to using baby oil to make the balls slippery during Wales training sessions, while Scotland have turned to shampoo and conditioner.

“The sweat is more of an issue. The wet is obviously not ideal, but the sweat is difficult to deal with,” assistant coach Mike Blair said.

England coach Eddie Jones has made Japan’s notorious weather a central element in his planning.

Having previously coached in Japan, the Australian-born England mentor has marked physical and mental resilience as key elements in his squad.

England hooker Jamie George said: “We have buckets of water on the side of the pitch and we put the ball in that before we throw it.”

But there have been no novel training tricks for Ireland, even though there is the prospect of torrential rain when they play their first game against Scotland on Sunday.

Loose forward Rhys Ruddock says the world’s No 1 side are quite at home in the wet.

“We’ve had some big performances in the past in shocking conditions,” he said.

However, the issue for Ireland was adapting to what could be varying weather conditions during the 80 minutes of playing time.