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England's day at the beach joins list of unusual training methods

George Ford

England Rugby head coach Eddie Jones raised eyebrows when he sent his World Cup-bound squad on a lifeguard course in Cornwall.

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The surprise excursion came as the Australian attempted to freshen up preparations for the tournament in Japan.

Here, PA takes a look at some of the unusual training methods coaches and athletes have used in pursuit of success.

Lions and unicorns

England’s footballers took to the pool after launching their 2018 World Cup finals campaign in Russia with a last-gasp win over Tunisia. Midfielder Jesse Lingard posted photographs of himself and several team-mates racing on inflatable unicorns with manager Gareth Southgate keen to keep spirits high for what proved to be an extended campaign.

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Sweating it out

Warren Gatland and his coaching team found a simple way to try to acclimatise the Wales rugby squad to the heat of Washington DC as they prepared to meet South Africa at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. The players trained wearing bin bags over their kit in an attempt to replicate average daily temperatures of 84 degrees fahrenheit, 29 celsius – and went on to win a tight game 22-20.

A lot of bottle

Australia opening batsman Matt Renshaw revealed coach Justin Langer’s innovative method to ready him for the challenge of facing Pakistan’s spinners in Dubai in 2018. Langer placed bowling markers and empty plastic water bottles in areas where rough might appear on a fifth-day pitch in the nets in an attempt to reproduce the testing conditions under which he might have to bat.

Boxing clever

Ukrainian boxer Vasyl Lomachenko was banned from the sport by his father for four years and sent to dance classes to improve his footwork, and he continues to employ unorthodox methods in training. The WBA and WBO lightweight champion, who comprehensively defeated Briton Anthony Crolla in April, was taught to juggle and do handstands by his gymnast mother and uses both to hone his concentration when under physical and mental stress.

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Sting in the tail

Then Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy decided to use the North Sea as an ice bath for his players after a training session on Seaburn beach in August 2004, although the ploy was to backfire when Argentinian midfielder Julio Arca was stung by a jellyfish and had an allergic reaction. Arca’s day took a further turn for the worse when it was suggested that acid in urine might ease the pain, although he made a full recovery and went on to help the Black Cats to win the Championship title at the end of the season.

PA

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TI 2 hours ago
All Blacks player ratings vs Italy | Autumn Nations Series

Rieko took literally years to turn from a defensive liability at 13 into a guy, who’s defensively sound as it befits the position. And it all came at the cost of him being much less of an offensive threat, than what he used to be. Proctor is a natural 13, he handles, passes, and kicks way better than Rieko ever will, he just isn’t as fast.


It’s unfair to judge Tupaea on the handful of games he’s had in 2022 before he got nearly crippled by a Wallaby lock. What could Tupaea/Proctor pairing be, if they got the same amount of chances as Jordie/Rieko?


Because no matter how you spin it, playing a player outside of his natural position is a poor asset management. No matter how talented he is, he still competes against players who had years and years of practice at the position. And if said guy is so talented that he actually CAN compete against specialists, imagine how much better still he could have been, if he had all those years to iron the toothing issues at the position. It just drives me mad.


Two things I hate in rugby union beyond description: aping after league, and playing players outside of their natural position. Especially considering, that they all admit they hate it, when they’re allowed to speak freely. Owen Farrell spent 80% of his international career at 12, saying every time when asked, that he is a 10 and prefers to play at 10. Those players are literally held at a gunpoint: play out of position, or no national jersey for you.

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