My name is Ben Stevenson, I'm a scrum half and have recently signed for Championship rugby team London Welsh, from Premiership side London Irish. We are already five weeks into a tough pre season campaign, but thankfully enjoying a week off this week to recover!
Our pre-season began on the 20th June with a meet and greet at the club and an opportunity for new players to meet those retained from the previous season (I was here on loan last season from Irish). Welsh have appointed Lyn Jones this year as the new head coach, taking over from Phil Greening and Mike Friday who valiantly guided Welsh to the semi finals of the Championship last year. He is very well qualified to carry out this role, following five successful years at the helm with the Ospreys - during which time they were Magners/Celtic League champions in 2005 and 2007, EDF Cup finalists in 2007 and champions in 2008.
During our first week of training, we had to do a series of tests to assess our condition. These tests included our fat being measured, a three rep max bench press, a five rep max front squat, a power test (where we had varied weights on the squat rack and they used a machine attached to the bar to see how quickly the bar moved from the bottom of the lift to the top) and finally the dreaded England fitness test! After this, the following sessions have simply been in the gym, with no rugby sessions whatsoever, conditioning our bodies ready for the tough rugby sessions that Lyn would have in store for us. The emphasis on the gym work varies from player to player, but for the most part the squad aimed to increase muscle mass and decrease fat, while increasing aerobic fitness with a tough full body circuit once a week and out door fitness, each prior to a day off “ which as you can imagine was important and much welcomed!
The weights sessions have varied from hypotrophy (high reps, usually 10-12, with lots of sets, usually 6-8), to increase muscle mass and then to shorter reps to increase strength. We usually have around 5 weights sessions a week - roughly two lower body, two upper body and one power session where the weights are lights but the movements are a lot quicker to make me more explosive and dynamic on the field.
Our conditioners have been closely monitoring us all to make sure we are doing everything we can on and off the field to give us the best chance of a successful season. This meant that we have had to keep a detailed food diary, which will constantly be analysed to see where improvements can be made from a nutritional perspective. We have also placed an increased emphasis on pool recovery sessions. These sessions usually involve 4 lengths of varied strokes, followed by dynamic and static stretching. Personally, I can really feel the benefit of these sessions - which are completely new to me. My body feels more relaxed afterwards, which obviously helps me ahead of the following days training!
Now the rugby sessions have started, it is easy to see where Lyn wants to take the team and how he wants to go about it. We have been watching a lot of footage of southern hemisphere teams - looking specifically at offloads and rucking. Much of the focus has been on decisions as to when to offload and when it is sometimes better simply to hold on to the ball, which rucks are the ones to counter ruck and which are best to leave alone, and fan the defensive line out to then make ground in the next defensive play. It provides a great insight for us all.
We have three pre season friendlies ahead of us (one yet to be announced), all of which will have the aim of best preparing us for our opening game against Leeds at the Carnegie Stadium. It couldn't be a tougher start of us and this will give us an early indication of where we are following their relegation from the premiership. The first pre-season game is against Gloucester on the 20th of August and the other against my former Club London Irish on the 26th of August. With a number of new faces in the squad so these games are absolutely essential in helping us gel as a unit and getting to know each other's games as best we can before the first game. Up until now, Lyn will not have had an opportunity to see us perform in a competitive environment, so this is a chance for all of us to impress him and grab that starting shirt off the back of our performances both in training and the pre-season games “ so there is a lot a stake for all of us. Let the games begin!
