Eating like the animals they are.
Anybody playing Rugby is going to have the appetite of a horse. The Lads are training hard, they’re flat out on the pitches, running and tackling at a high intensity.
They’re in the gym most days, testing their bodies to the max. They burn more calories than anyone else, but at the same time, they’re meant to be bigger and stronger than other people, so you can be guaranteed that they’re fuelling that tank well.
The majority of them won’t take a step back from the dinner table, and that’s certainly the case in the Munster Rugby squad, as well.
Their calorie intake levels are truly phenomenal, as the squad attempt to retain their weight, and to gain even more, with most players consuming more than 4500 calories each day.
The squad’s in-house performance nutritionist Emma Tester provided a valuable insight on the measures being taken by the lads to do this earlier in the year.
“Player energy intake really does vary. What they should be doing is matching it to what they’re doing. Calorie-wise, what you’re looking at is 3 and a half thousand for a light player on a light day, but then upwards to 4 and a half to 5 thousand calories on a day that’s heavy in terms of training load,” said Tester.
“It can be a struggle to maintain that mass, but the lads have done a great job in making sure that their weights are up and that it’s holding up, and hopefully we’ll be seeing that stay throughout the season as well,” she said.
Peter O’Mahony was speaking on a Q and A on SportsJOE Live on Thursday night when he dished the dirt on the savage of all the savages.
Prop Stephen Archer is the king feeder in the Munster squad.
“The biggest appetite, Stephen Archer, as you can see,” quipped O’Mahony.
In fairness to the 29-year-old Cork man, he’s built like a brick wall and nobody would fancy trying to tackle him,
The Munster captain wasn’t sparing anyone, and claimed that Simon Zebo is the biggest messer, that Billy Holland, despite the work he does “on his speed and agility, is the slowest, while Mike Sherry was labelled the worst dresser.
You can listen to the Q and A with Peter O’Mahony (From 45″00′) and much more from Thursday night’s SportsJOE Live right here.
