SIZE MATTERS

BECAUSE THE LIONS ONLY COME EVERY 12 YEARS, IT PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONTRAST AND COMPARE TO SEE HOW MUCH TALLER AND HEAVIER THE PLAYERS ARE NOW THAN THEY WERE IN 2005.

T...HOW MUCH CHANGE IN THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE PLAYERS THERE HAS BEEN IN THE LAST 12 YEARS. THE JUMP IN SIZE AND POWER IS PHENOMENAL.’

here are some people in rugby circles who are asking whether the game needs to lose its obsession with size. At some point coaches, trainers and players are going to have to ask how big is too big?

The growth rate of players over the years has been phenomenal. When the Lions last came to New Zealand in 2005 there were stark and staggering statistics to absorb. The one that grabbed the headlines was that Daniel Carter, the smallest and lightest All Black in 2005, was in actual fact heavier than captain and hooker of the 1993 All Blacks, Sean Fitzpatrick. It was a finding that made a few people gasp. How could it be? Wasn’t Fitzy a big, bruising front-row forward back in the day?

And what about the fact that loose forwards such as Michael Jones and Zinzan Brooke weren’t even as heavy as 2005 midfielder and captain Tana Umaga?

In 12 years it was apparent that the players had changed beyond all recognition in terms of their physiques. It was estimated that the All Blacks of 2005 would have been about 30 per cent more powerful than their 1993 counterparts.

But to a large extent that change wasn’t so unexpected as remarkable. The men of 1993 were amateurs. They trained hard and took the game seriously, but they were still having to hold down regular jobs. They didn’t have access to the same volume of sports science or have anywhere near the same time at their disposal to work on their conditioning. As vastly different as the athletes of 2005 were in comparison, so much of that could be explained by the transition from amateurism to professionalism.

Possibly more fascinating is how much change in the size and shape of the players there has been in the last 12 years. The jump in size and power is phenomenal and explaining it is harder.

The All Blacks are, on average about six kilos heavier and almost two centimetres taller than they were in 2005.