London: The steps England are undertaking to minimise the demands of a six-day turnaround ahead of their final RBS Six Nations match against Italy have included using a mobile cryotherapy unit to help the players sleep after Sunday’s victory over Wales.
Stuart Lancaster’s side have a day less to recover than their title opponents Ireland and France. They were similarly disadvantaged last season, when they lost their Grand Slam game against Wales in Cardiff, suffering a record 30-3 defeat.
While Lancaster played down the impact of the short turnaround at the time, Rob Howley, Wales’ interim coach as Gatland was on Lions duty, said it had been tough on England and that his side had exploited it.
To help ensure England players are as fresh as possible for Saturday, with the title on the line again, the players were offered the opportunity to use the cryotherapy unit at their training base at Pennyhill Park in Bagshot, Surrey, on Sunday night.
England had previously opted not to go down the route followed by Wales by using the temperature-lowering therapy, but have brought one in on a limited basis this season to help in recovery.
Many players struggle to sleep after a match because of the high levels of adrenalin and one of the benefits of cryotherapy — which subjects players to temperatures as low as -160C for a three-minute session — is that the brain releases “feel-good” endorphins to combat the extreme cold. These are said to improve the quality of sleep, which is regarded as one of the key recovery principles for players, along with rehydration, ice treatment, massage and rest.
“Cryotherapy is used as part of a more extensive recovery programme when appropriate,” Matt Parker, the Rugby Football Union’s head of athletic performance, said.
“It has had limited use in the Six Nations. It’s being considered as part of our World Cup preparation.”
England have also cut back on their training workload. The players had Monday and Wednesday off and Tuesday was limited to a short team run after a morning session of skills and gym work.
Chris Robshaw, the England captain, said it was critical for the players to be as fresh as possible for the Italy game, with his side needing to win by 50 points to prevent Ireland taking the title with any win against France.
“The fitness team have been very specific in the way they want us to recover, looking for small percentages to get us back on the page as quickly as possible with ice baths, massages, the list is endless really,” Robshaw said. “It is a massive mental week. Guys are a little bit sore still. There’s nothing major but the knocks and niggles have added up a bit.”
