England's front row to face NZ (yes, it's rugby time again)

[Mich the Tester]

Whatever happens, I don't expect England's set piece to go backwards. This is a fooking enormous front row.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rug...cks-clash.html

Dan Cole


Steve Thompson



Andrew Sheridan

[Boudica]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

we're in row 22

[Mich the Tester]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

we're in row 22

Have fun. I think MJ's just picked the biggest bunch of huge hairy ugly b@st@rds he can find for the pack;

A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), S Thompson (Leeds Carnegie), D Cole (Leicester Tigers), T Palmer (Stade Francais), C Lawes (Northampton Saints), T Croft (Leicester Tigers), L Moody (Bath Rugby, capt), N Easter (Harlequins).

This will not be beautiful rugby.

[Doggy Styles]

They are a big pack, but we are still between world cups, which means the All Blacks won't choke just yet.

[SupremeSpod]

Have fun. I think MJ's just picked the biggest bunch of huge hairy ugly b@st@rds he can find for the pack;

A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), S Thompson (Leeds Carnegie), D Cole (Leicester Tigers), T Palmer (Stade Francais), C Lawes (Northampton Saints), T Croft (Leicester Tigers), L Moody (Bath Rugby, capt), N Easter (Harlequins).

This will not be beautiful rugby.

Beautiful Rugby isn't what's needed. I just hope we keep off the penalties.

[Mich the Tester]

They are a big pack, but we are still between world cups, which means the All Blacks won't choke just yet.

They lost to Oz recently, who also recently lost to England.

Actually, I just want to see someone thrash Seth Effrica.

[d000hg]

Question: why are they so massive? Is it actually useful muscle, or iron-pumping muscle used mainly for weight, or are they fit strong guys carrying extra flab to make them heavy?

It doesn't seem like the kind of bulk you'd get naturally playing rugby, unlike say rowing where they get giant muscles specifically from using them.

Mich?

[Mich the Tester]

Beautiful Rugby isn't what's needed. I just hope we keep off the penalties.

agreed

[Mich the Tester]

Question: why are they so massive? Is it actually useful muscle, or iron-pumping muscle used mainly for weight, or are they fit strong guys carrying extra flab to make them heavy?

It doesn't seem like the kind of bulk you'd get naturally playing rugby, unlike say rowing where they get giant muscles specifically from using them.

Mich?

Andy Sheridan is certainly not flabby. See here. None of them are flabby, although one or two might have a tiny layer of fat over very large abdominal muscles. The fat levels of top class players are rarely over about 12%, with the odd exception like Trevor Leota, but then he was immensely strong.

I think they do less of the simple iron-pumping nowadays and more work with kettlebells, sandbags and so on, which tend not to make you slow and stiff but more flexible and coordinated.

Some of it is about sheer bulk; weight counts in the forwards, but it is basically about real physical strength; an international front row forward will bench press about 450 lbs. That's not in itself useful, but a measure of their strength. As a comparison, I'm 6ft 1 in, 220lbs and can just about bench press my own weight once or at a push, twice, and that's after about 30 years of rugby and training 4-5 times per week (although I don't really train for the sake of beating my own bench press figures). An average man with little or no strength training might manage 90 to 120 lbs depending on his natural build.

But those guys are also fast over about 20 metres; if you watch the top players sprinting in training you'll only see the difference between backs and forwards after about 30 metres or so, when they all get up to top speed.

[cailin maith]

Andrew Sheridan - Lovely