Gym work destroying technique, says Shaw

ENGLAND lock Simon Shaw believes the drive for rugby players to become bigger and stronger has seen skill sacrificed and “gym monkeys” emerge.

Shaw insists the sport is suffering from the emphasis on size over technique as England prepare for their autumn schedule without six certain starters – all lost to injury.

The absentees include an entire front row and an alarming number of shoulder injuries, reigniting the debate over player welfare that raged during a brutal Lions tour to South Africa just four months ago.

Shaw, himself returning from a fractured metatarsal and likely to miss England’s first two Tests against Australia and Argentina, has called for a rethink.

“There is an argument that people are spending too much time in the gym, creating more of an athlete than a rugby player,” said the 36-year-old.

“But there is a limit to how far you can stretch your body. There’s a lot of pressure, especially on the young guys coming through, to be fitter, stronger and faster.

“That in turn makes them train harder in the gym to be physically stronger than the player who is currently holding that position. But they should look at guys like Lawrence Dallaglio and Serge Betsen.

“Serge Betsen is not the strongest man in the world, he doesn’t lift a lot of weights. He’s not even the fittest guy. But when he goes out playing he never stops – he’s got an incredible engine. Lawrence as well was never that great in the gym. We shouldn’t be trying to create gym monkeys with technique, we should be trying to create rugby players. I hope we don’t go down the route of using American football style padding.”

Shaw believes the problem is exaggerated by the unrealistic demands made of player.

“I don’t necessarily think the game is the cause of all the injuries, rather the length of the season,” he said. “It’s the expectation on the players to be fit for an entire season. Whether they are playing or not is almost irrelevant. “I don’t want to be critical of the system but you meet up very early and the expectation is that you have reached a certain level of fitness.”