How can a bulked-up centre stop playing and lose three stone?

THERE was a time when injury, or an enforced absence from training due to work commitments – ah, yes, the good old amateur days – resulted in a player’s weight ballooning.

Not anymore. With so much time spent pumping iron in the gym and packing in the calories with protein shakes and supplements, the modern rugby player is, on average, two stones heavier than his counterpart 25 years ago.

In the professional game, power is king. Players are now consuming an average of 6,000 calories a day, so every player is a magnified version of his normal frame. Accepting that, it was still a shock to learn that Welsh star, Gavin Henson, had shrunk by more than three stone in the nine months since his self-imposed exile from the game. The magnitude of his weight loss highlights the level of bulking up that players go through.

This has major ramifications for players after retirement, and many go through a routine that weans them off the treadmill on a gradual basis. Some are so pleased to escape the regimented slog of training that they revel in their new-found freedom. That creates other problems. What they miss most is the camaraderie.

The modern professional lives in a cocooned world of like-minded creatures, and some are ill-equipped to cope with normal life. Professional sport dictates that everything is mapped out for the player from dawn to dusk. Some find it difficult to cope without the support mechanisms when their gear bag is no longer a constant companion.

The most difficult point is the start of the season after retirement. While the break from the dreaded pre-season training camp is welcome, the problems start once the early season warm-up games commence. Some players stay away from attending matches. Others, when they attend, don’t know where to sit when watching the game – should they gravitate towards the injured or rested players in the stand, or should they sit next to the great unwashed?

Henson is blessed to be able to spend time with his two young kids and enjoy the celebrity life with his partner, Charlotte Church. The succession of injuries he has suffered since 2005 has taken its toll, but he must harbour unfulfilled ambition. He has never played in a World Cup. Wales need him. Even in his relatively short absence from the game, the change in his make-up is such that it could take ages before he can compete. So much of the game is geared towards the collisions that it is hard for the small talent to survive. Simon Shaw was right when he said there were too many gym monkeys in the game. Players of Henson’s talent are sorely missed.