Ireland’s head of nutrition Emma Gardner believes “food is mood” as she attempts to fuel another World Cup triumph following her key role in England’s 2019 cricket success.
Gardner is tasked with managing the varied dietary requirements of Andy Farrell’s 33-man squad for their shot at glory in France.
The 37-year-old previously worked as a nutritionist for the England and Wales Cricket Board, a period which included Ben Stokes’ World Cup final heroics against New Zealand at Lord’s.
She clearly has a recipe for success, having also been involved with Great Britain Hockey when the women’s team clinched gold at the 2016 Olympics.
While diet plans are structured and relatively strict, Gardner, from Accrington, Lancashire, acknowledges there needs to be some leeway and feels “internet, food and sleep” are the main requirements for maintaining morale.
“I took a lot of learnings from both those environments, the Olympic Games and the Cricket World Cup,” she said.
“I’m used to the nature of the tournament, used to getting players ready for a match. Having to get them ready again is probably the main learning.
“It’s a long tournament. There’s a long time to concentrate and keep players focused. A big learning for me is ‘food is mood’, particularly in these campaigns.
“We obviously try to keep high quality all the time but there’ll be times where we go ‘let’s just calm it a bit’ and give them what they want and relax because that’s also important when you’re here for such a long time.
“Internet, food and sleep are the three things that tend to keep people happy.”
Ireland’s players have individual nutritional requirements based on position, body weight and expected playing time, with six eating windows per day.
Prop Andrew Porter, for example, can consume up to 600 grams of carbohydrates – a plate of pasta is around 80 grams – ahead of a game.
Gardner’s work involves devising bespoke plans and ensuring the squad are suitably replenished ready for the next fixture.
“In this squad, I actually haven’t had too many crazy requests,” she said.
“Other teams and other sports, I’ve had some very bizarre requests.
“You sometimes get people wanting steak for every single meal, as an example.
“But these guys are very straightforward, they love their food, they’re not fussy, my life is very simple in a way. They just like food and lots of it.”
Gardner, who started the job last October, began her career at Northampton Saints a decade ago when nutrition in rugby was “hugely” different.
A major challenge during the current tournament is that all but one of Ireland’s fixtures kick off at 9pm local time.
“There’s a psychology to a 9pm kick-off,” she said.
“Sometimes the challenge is overeating, feeling sluggish because the only thing you do is eat all day, so you have to tailor it.
“We’ve done a lot of work in that space with individuals, to make sure they feel good going into the game when it’s that late.
“It can feel like a very long day when you’re waiting around all day and eating is one of the only things to do.”
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Ireland’s squad often enjoy a post-match beer, while players were pictured drinking wine during their time off after beating reigning world champions South Africa.
Asked about alcohol consumption, Gardner said: “We don’t have rules, we have standards and the lads know those standards. They create those standards.
“They’re very professional, they also need to look after their own bodies.
“They know the time when they can slightly relax.
“They can do that with food, they can do that if they want to have a drink but they also understand what’s ahead of them.”
Nyeem Young to lead West Indies Academy squad named for Ireland tour
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has unveil the squad selected for the upcoming West Indies Academy tour of Ireland, slated from June 8th to June 29th, 2024.
This tour will comprise five matches, encompassing three 50-over matches and two four-day matches against Ireland’s Emerging Men’s Team. It signifies a reciprocal tour following Ireland's visit to the West Indies in November 2023.
“We continue to be methodical in our approach by exposing our academy players to various opposition and conditions across different formats. This is key to their development and fosters resilience and adaptability," said Miles Bascombe, CWI Director of Cricket.
Nyeem Young will continue as Captain, with Teddy Bishop as Vice-Captain for both formats.
"Nyeem’s leadership qualities have been evident throughout his tenure, notably steering the Academy team during the Super50 and West Indies Championship campaigns. His continued captaincy is a testament to his exceptional leadership skills and contribution to the team,” noted Graeme West, CWI’s High-Performance Manager in reference to Young.
Regarding Bishop's selection as Vice-Captain, West highlights, "Teddy Bishop's elevation to Vice Captaincy underscores his growing stature within the team. His adept handling of leadership responsibilities during Young's absence and his invaluable experience with the West Indies A Team and Senior Teams make him an ideal choice for the role."
The full squad is listed as follows:
Nyeem Young - Captain
Teddy Bishop - Vice Captain
Kadeem Alleyne
Jewel Andrew
Ackeem Auguste
Joshua Bishop
McKenny Clarke
Joshua James
Jordan Johnson
Leonardo Julian
Johann Layne
Ashmead Nedd
Kelvin Pitman
Ramon Simmonds
Carlon Tuckett
Team Management Unit:
Head Coach: Ramesh Subasinghe
Assistant Coach: Rohan Nurse
Physiotherapist: Neil Barry
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Shayne Cooper
Manager & Team Analyst: Kesh Ramphal
Fraser Brown ‘hugely proud’ of Scotland career as he announces rugby retirement
Fraser Brown declared himself “hugely proud” of his Scotland career as he announced his retirement from professional rugby.
The 34-year-old Glasgow hooker has not played since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for the World XV against the Barbarians at Twickenham last May and he has now conceded defeat in his bid to return to action.
Brown won 61 Scotland caps, with the first of them coming against Italy in 2013 and the last in the Six Nations match at home to Ireland in 2023, the same game incidentally in which Stuart Hogg won his final cap. The front-rower went to both the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.
“When you have a serious injury like I did with an ACL at the end of your career, it is always going to be hard to come back from,” Brown told Scottish Rugby.
“That probably made it a little easier to announce my retirement but it’s still a surreal and strange feeling.
“I’m hugely proud to have played so many times for Scotland during my career. To get one cap was great, but then my second one came against the All Blacks at Murrayfield which was such a special occasion.
“To reach 50 caps was a big moment as I had to deal with a lot of injuries throughout my career and to be part of the growth process of the team which has resulted in where they are now has been cool.”
At club level, Brown made 141 appearances for Glasgow after joining from Edinburgh in 2011.
The hooker helped them win the Guinness Pro12 in 2015 with victory over Munster in the final in Belfast, while his last appearance for Warriors proved to be last season’s Challenge Cup final defeat by Toulon in Dublin.
Glasgow head coach Franco Smith paid tribute to Brown, saying: “Fraser is the epitome of a modern professional and someone who should serve as a role model to any young player starting their journey.
“The respect with which he is held, not only within the Glasgow Warriors community but within the wider rugby family, should serve to underline the achievements he has earned throughout his career and the manner in which he has achieved them.
“His work ethic and determination to bring the best out of the people and players around him has been clear to all throughout his career.
“I wish him the very best for whatever comes next and I know he will apply that same work ethic and determination that made him one of this club’s most distinguished Warriors.”
Brown becomes the second experienced Scotland front-rower to announce his retirement in the space of a month after Edinburgh prop WP Nel recently revealed he would be hanging his boots up at the end of this season.
England tap into knowledge of Brian Ashton to play entertaining brand of rugby
England have been tapping into the knowledge of veteran attack guru Brian Ashton to achieve their aim of filling Twickenham.
The Red Roses ran in 14 tries in an 88-10 victory over Ireland that places them on the brink of claiming a sixth consecutive Guinness Women’s Six Nations title when they face France on Saturday.
A thrilling attacking performance before a 48,778 crowd was born out of the belief that in order to play in front of a full house of Twickenham at next year’s home World Cup, they must play appealing rugby.
And helping them achieve that aim is Ashton, a former England men’s head coach regarded as a visionary in the game whose expertise has been enlisted by Red Roses boss John Mitchell.
“Brian makes us ask questions. ‘If this is the picture, what is the easiest way that you can take the wins?’” said Dow, who ran in a hat-trick against Ireland.
“I do think it is about asking those questions and having Brian Ashton available throughout the week…I absolutely adore the man.
“The way he phrases things almost makes you re-think the philosophy of rugby. I think in the English brand the philosophy is ‘let’s kick to the corner, let’s take the territory’. But is that the philosophy of all rugby? Can we expand that?
“At the end of the day, professional rugby is a business in its own way. We need to be proving to the whole of England that we can play an exciting brand of rugby.”
While England march on by overwhelming the opposition in front of them, Ireland’s blowout highlights the gulf in class in the women’s game and affects the credibility of the Six Nations.
The Red Roses have accumulated 228 points after four rounds and France are the only European team capable of taking the wind out of their sails when the rivals clash in Bordeaux.
“I 100 per cent think teams will catch up and as much as we may be on top now, it is on us to try and work to keep that place and demand more from ourselves,” Dow said.
“Because as much as we’d love the game to grow, we want to keep the gap ourselves and continue to prove that we can be the best.”
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