Munster's food for thought

A team nutritionist is charged with sending players out on the field in as good a shape as they can be — a huge challenge in rugby, with the different needs of a tight head to a scrum-half.

They say an army marches on its stomach and, without casting aspersions, a quick glance at some of Munster’s Red Army would suggest the province’s loyal followers march further than most.

There was a time when the players they supported were as similarly proportioned but the modern game has turned the honest amateur into a professional athlete whose diet is as closely monitored as his heart rate, his calorific intake as accurately measured as the time spent running shuttles.