A day in the life of a professional rugby player

Monday February 23 2004

A day in Richard Hill's rugby life

ProSport is the Number One range of sports support in the UK - helping people relieve, prevent and protect them from the risk of high-impact and potential injuries.

This week our ProSport expert chats to Lions, England and Saracens flanker Richard Hill about a typical week in his life.

Q: ProSport - WHAT TIME DO YOU GET UP NORMALLY?

A: Richard Hill - This varies - but about 7 - 7:30 am. Sometimes I get to have a lie in and wake up as late as 8!

Q: WHAT DO YOU EAT FOR BREAKFAST?

A: I usually have a ham and white omelette on toast.

Q: DO ANY OF YOUR TEAM-MATES HAVE ANY STRANGE NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS? EG. RAW EGGS

A: Not that I know of although some of them will have a variety of protein shakes and supplements as well as breakfast.

Q: TYPICALLY WHAT TIME DO YOU START TRAINING?

A: Normally about 09.00 or 10.00, but this will depend on what day of the week it is.

Q: HOW DOES TRAINING CHANGE AS YOU APPROACH A GAME?

A: We tend to have more contact at the beginning of the week and the training generally gets lighter as we approach a game. There is also more focus on speed, dexterity and tactics as we approach the game itself.

Q: HOW MUCH OF YOUR TRAINING IS DONE INSIDE IN THE GYM AND OUTSIDE?

A: The majority of the work we do is done outside, although this obviously depends on if you are injured. Sometimes the only work you can do is in the gym or with the physio.

Q: DOES THE TEAM GET SEPARATED FOR SEPARATE TRAINING? EG. FORWARDS AND BACKS

A: Yes - but only for some of the time.

Q: DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN TRAINING SCHEDULE?

A: Although I train with all of the squad some of my training schedule (even at club level) is specific to me and is done with advice from both Dave Reddin and my club coach.

Q: HOW MUCH WARMING UP/DOWN DO YOU DO (MINUTES)?

A: It depends how hard the sessions are but normally 15 minutes warm-up and 15 minutes warm-down - although the warming down is always harder!

Q: NORMALLY WHEN DOES TRAINING FINISH?

A: This depends on what day it is. On some days we can finish at 13.00 on others it is 15.00. Sometimes we watch videos of our opponents or go through tactics for the next game. On average we get one complete day off a week and one recovery day after a game.

Q: WHAT HAPPENS AFTER TRAINING?

A: Sometimes we just go home - other days we have massage/physio or we train some more!

Q: HOW MANY MEALS/CALORIES DO YOU LOOK TO TAKE ON BOARD?

A: At least three/four meals a day as well as a couple of protein shakes.

Q: DO YOU TAKE ANY SUPPLEMENTS?

A: Yes.

Q: IN LIGHT OF RECENT SCANDALS ARE YOU MORE CAUTIOUS ABOUT WHAT YOU TAKE OR ARE THEY ADMINISTERED BY SOMEONE ELSE?

A: Not at all. My supplements have always been given to me by the England nutritionalist (Dr Adam Carey and Matt Lovell) who check all the ingredients and the companies that supply them to make sure that there are no banned substances used in their products.

Q: AFTER YOUR INJURY IN THE WORLD CUP DO YOU DO ANY SPECIFIC TRAINING OR EXERCISES OR WEAR A SUPPORT?

A: During the World Cup when I was coming back from injury I did use a support when I was warming up, but I do not wear one now. I do wear strapping on my ankles though.

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