Beard lifts Wales by bulking up for his timely return to full training

Lock regains lost weight after appendix surgery Squad ‘in a good place’ for finale to Pool D

in Oita

Adam Beard, the Wales lock, is back in full training ahead of the team’s final two pool matches, following his appendix surgery last month.

Beard stayed behind for his operation as the rest of the squad flew to Japan, before linking up with the team in Toyota ahead of their opening match against Georgia.

The 6ft 8in second row has since worked hard to regain the weight he lost following surgery. Beard has been eating “whatever he wanted” after arriving in Japan, with Paul Stridgeon, Wales’s head of physical performance, detailing the work that has gone in to helping the player get back to full fitness.

“Beardy had that operation and then he lost three or four kilos,” Stridgeon said. “We’ve just been getting as much food into him as we can; some supplementation.

“He’s been working hard, doing extra weights sessions as well, and he’s rehabbed well. He’s back into full training this week, so he’s done well. He might be a couple of kilos down on what he was before, but that won’t affect him in the game.”

Wales have made the most of a 10-day break following their win over Australia, before ramping up their preparations to face Fiji on Wednesday. Finishing top of Pool D remains a priority for Stridgeon, given that Wales would benefit from a full week’s turnaround following Sunday’s final pool fixture against Uruguay in Kumamoto, ahead of a potential quarter-final in Oita against France.

Stridgeon, who has worked with England, Wasps, Toulon and the British and Irish Lions, said of the current Wales squad: “It’s the bestprepared group I’ve worked with, by far. The boys are in a good place physically.”