Brumbies 2012

[Slim 293]

Big Ben chimes in early for Brumbies

BY CHRIS DUTTON, RUGBY UNION
04 Nov, 2011 04:00 AM

The desire to ''be part of something special'' and a fear of being left behind were the driving forces behind Ben Alexander's decision to forego his brief holiday and join the ACT Brumbies for pre-season training.

The Wallabies prop shocked everyone, including Brumbies coach Jake White, when he turned up to the club's Griffith headquarters yesterday ready to train less than a week after returning from the World Cup.

Although he could have easily used his two-week break to rest his body after a brutal 11 months of rugby, Alexander said he didn't want to waste any time that could be spent immersing himself in White's new regime.

''You hear about all the gains the guys are making and they're training the house down and I just want to be a part of it,'' Alexander said.

''I come in here and I feel like I'm playing for a new team, everything has changed. There's new coaches, a lot of new faces and the program has completely changed.

''I already feel like I'm playing catch up because the guys are getting personal bests in skinfolds and strength gains ... and the only way I'm going to get results is if I'm in here as well doing what they're doing.

''There's a want and desire to be here and be part of something special.''

Unfortunately Alexander's stay will be short lived.

The Wallabies squad to tour Europe and play matches against the Barbarians and Wales will be named on Monday and the front-rower is a certain inclusion.

Brumbies and World Cup teammate Stephen Moore will also be in the touring party, but Pat McCabe is only just starting his long recovery after having shoulder surgery.

Alexander, Moore and McCabe were not expected to front for Brumbies training until January.

But Alexander was itching to get involved with the revamped squad, coaching staff and base at Griffith.

As part of White's overhaul, the Brumbies now have a full-time chef who follows a menu set by Australian Institute of Sport nutritionists and cooks the players breakfast and lunch every day.

The former World Cup-winning coach is also expecting 16 bunk beds to be delivered in the coming days so the players can ''have a nap'' between training sessions.

In the off-season the players helped build a new sauna, refurbish the spa and activities room and paint the offices.

Alexander hoped the enthusiasm of the young squad would deliver results in the Super Rugby season.

White was hopeful Alexander's attitude would rub off on his teammates.

''I wasn't aware he was going to come to training ... it's been wonderful and it's not only good for him to be here, it's good for the young boys to see a Wallabies bloke wants to be here,'' White said.

''It's going to help him for the tour to Europe as well ... he's going to be very important for us and I've had a chat to him about where he fits in and what we need from him.

''He's been very positive and very supportive, he wants to be part of it and he's excited.''


Alexander has played in almost every Test and Super Rugby match this year and admitted he was fatigued. While he has been training with the Brumbies, he has limited his contact sessions to keep him fresh to go to Europe.

After beating Wales to finish third at the World Cup, 26-year-old Alexander said the pain of losing the semi-final to New Zealand was still burning inside.

''It really hurt after the final when we saw New Zealand and how happy they were to win,'' Alexander said.

''That hurt the most ... New Zealand were way better than us in the semi-final and we know that.


''... I know it makes me want to go back and it's going to fuel me to do better and I know it will fuel the Wallabies on to bigger things.''

 

[Slim 293]

Brumbies preseason update

By Brumbies Media Unit

With Week Two of preseason almost finished the Brumbies are already looking leaner and more athletic under the new coaching structure.

Players have been recording some record scores in the skin fold testing, with numbers at Saturday morning Fat Club in steep decline.

Wallaby inside centre and Brumbies flyer Patrick McCabe is nursing his shoulder back to health having gone under the knife in Sydney on Tuesday morning. From all reports the surgery was a success and Pat will be aiming for a return to the paddock early in the Brumbies 2012 campaign.

McCabe has been one of Australia’s form backs in 2012, earning himself a reputation as a gap-proof defender.

McCabe wasn’t the only one to have surgery this week. Chief Executive Andrew Fagan had some work done on a troublesome elbow and we wish him a speedy recovery.

Several Brumbies players, led by Nic White (who cheated by three weeks) started Movember on Tuesday and already the fluff is starting to show. Early favourites are Joe Tomane, Christian Lealiifano and Ben Alexander, who heads into his fourth Movember campaign.

Membership numbers are also trucking along nicely, with the new team in the commercial office working over time to bring in the bacon.

Adding to that is a new social media plan the club is planning to unveil in the very near future, so log on the your Facebook and Tweets us today.

Ma'afu's departure must've helped...

 

[What2040]

Ma'afu's departure must've helped...

Yeah but he certainly looked fitter at end of RWC campaign - he actually was pretty good around the park in bronze final

 

[Jnor]

I, for one, am pretty excited to see what White can do with the Brumbies. I actually think they're a chance of making an impact this year. Thanks for posting the articles Slim

 

[Slim 293]

I, for one, am pretty excited to see what White can do with the Brumbies. I actually think they're a chance of making an impact this year. Thanks for posting the articles Slim

If they are able to perform as well as the Reds last year, or even the Highlanders this year... I would be quite happy...

 

[Slim 293]

I've posted the article in the Wales tour thread, but it looks likely that the Brumbies will play Wales in a mid-week match next year...

 

[Slim 293]

White is really changing it up in Canberra...

Brumbies dining out

BY CHRIS DUTTON
05 Nov, 2011 01:00 AM

It's part of Jake White's radical ACT Brumbies revamp and a move the former World Cup-winning coach believes can boost his team's chances of having a successful Super Rugby campaign.

Every morning the Brumbies march like soldiers into their new kitchen and sit down ready to be served a specialised menu prepared by the club's first full-time chef.


When they're finished eating, they are sent to the gym or on to the field to train.


The routine starts again at lunch and the players insist they're already reaping the rewards.


''The Brumbies have always been different to everyone else, we want to be leaders again and this is one of the ways we can do it,'' White said.


''We've got a young group and we want to make it easier for them ... we know what it's like for 21 and 22-year-olds to be living on their own.


''This makes it easier for them and we can control what their bodies look like, what they're eating, when they're eating and it's scientifically worked out, it's not just a thumb suck.''


White enlisted the help of Australian Institute of Sport nutritionist Greg Shaw to design a menu to make his players the most well-prepared team in Super Rugby.


Since taking over the Brumbies coaching reins, White has started an ambitious overhaul of the club's headquarters.


It's all part of his plan to create a refreshed environment and rebuild the two-time Super Rugby champions.

But while the players get two meals a day, it's not for free.


They have to pay to eat the meals prepared for them and a group of players is given washing-up duties each week.


The front-rowers are usually the first to charge towards the fresh food and chef Brian Gibson has quickly learned he needs to cater for 65 people even though he only has 45 mouths to feed.


Prop Jono Owen has no doubt having a set diet will benefit his bid to be in the Brumbies' front-row rotation next year.


''It takes a lot of the thinking out of your day, especially for blokes that are bigger and need to trim down a bit,'' Owen said.


''We don't have to think about how many calories we're eating or healthy choices ... we know we're eating healthy and so far the props are down to skinfolds [a measurement of body fat] we were nowhere near last year.


''My skinfolds are 86 this year and that's down from 110.

''Most of the props last year were 100, but the line in the sand has been drawn to be under 80 this year.''


Owen said scrumhalf Nic White was one of the team's biggest eaters along with props Ben Alexander and Dan Palmer.


The three-week rotating menu is high protein, low fat and catered around what training the team does during the week.


Brumbies NRL recruit Joseph Tomane hoped eating breakfast and lunch together would help the young squad bond before the opening round of the season.


''I've never seen anything like this and it's working wonders with all the boys,'' Tomane said.


''It's made our lives a lot easier and while we're paying, it saves you money as well. I would spend $30 at Subway for lunch and I can get bigger portions here as well.


''We've got front-rowers that can eat like a horse so we've got to give the chef a hand if he needs it.''

 

[Ghibli]

Good to see that since he joined the Tahs, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) has become a Wallabys ace
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...for-the-top-wallabies-ace-20111104-1n03p.html

 

[mudskipper]

I think they'll surprise a few teams and are a fair chance of pushing for a wildcard spot, after that anything can happen.

The question is can Jake White can lock in his preferred starting team before week 1? And can they build some combos. It’s fortunate that they’re not losing too many to the Wallabies tour and focus on the preseason work. I heard some high praise about Joe Tomane's preseason work.

Jake White coach will have an A and B game plan unlike his predecessor. So the Brumbies may pick some of the closer match points they lost last year.

It’s was a great idea to enlist the help of Australian Institute of Sport nutritionist Greg Shaw to design a menu and then set up the Performance Canteen at Brumbies HQ catering for breakfast and lunch.

This will certainly help the younger guys who have just relocated to town. Good team building. Simple ideas like this put into action will make a difference overall.

 

[Brumby Jack]

Mudskipper,

Wait til the bunk beds arrive for the after lunch 'nap time'. An internal room has been painted black and players will be required to have 'active rest' which means no physio and no massages or anything during that time.

That could be rather interesting.

 

[Jnor]

For some reason this is what I think of whenever Jake White and Brumbies 2012 comes up

[video=youtube;ekxn5KLv9XQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekxn5KLv9XQ[/video]

 

[mudskipper]

Mudskipper,

Wait til the bunk beds arrive for the after lunch 'nap time'. An internal room has been painted black and players will be required to have 'active rest' which means no physio and no massages or anything during that time.

That could be rather interesting.

Its not because Jake likes reading bedtime stories... Jake White's a thinker...

Short-term recovery, sometimes called active recovery occurs in the hours immediately after intense exercise. Active recovery refers to engaging in low-intensity exercise after workouts during both the cool-down phase immediately after a hard effort or workout as well as during the days following the workout. Both types of active recovery are linked to performance benefits.

Another major focus of recovery immediately following exercise has to do with replenishing energy stores and fluids lost during exercise and optimizing protein synthesis (the process of increasing the protein content of muscle cells, preventing muscle breakdown and increasing muscle size) by eating the right foods in the post-exercise meal.

This is also the time for soft tissue (muscles, tendons, ligaments) repair and the removal of chemicals that build up as a result of cell activity during exercise.

The Bottom Line
Active rest appears to allow an athlete to physically and psychologically recover from the stresses of training and competing while still maintaining fitness levels. It is becoming a common part of most training plans and appears to offer more benefit than harm. Consider adding a bit of easy, low-intensity exercise to your post-competition recovery plan and see if you feel better faster.

 

[Brumby Jack]

This is also posted in the Club Rugby thread....

Jake White has allocated 5 Brumbies squad players amongst the 7 JID teams to stop the exodus of players leaving to play in the Shute Shield in Sydney.
Those players who already had an affiliation to local clubs will go back to those teams (e.g. Nic White and Robbie Coleman to Queanbeyan, Ben Alexander to Uni-Norths)

Here is the list in full: (thanks to Canberra Times)

Uni-Norths
Forwards: Ben Alexander, Dylan Sigg
Backs: Tom Cox, Ian Prior, Joe Tomane,

Wests
Forwards: Fotu Auelua, Peter Kimlin, Scott Sio,
Backs: Pat McCabe, Jesse Mogg

Royals
Forwards: Sam Carter, Stephen Hoiles, Siliva Siliva
Backs: Kimami Sitauti, Matt To'omua

Queanbeyan
Forwards: Jono Owen, Leon Power
Backs: Robbie Coleman, Tevita Kuridrani, Nic White

Easts
Forwards: Ben Hand, Michael Hooper, Stephen Moore, Jerry Yanuyanutawa
Backs: Andrew Smith

Vikings
Forwards : Colby Fainga'a, Ben Mowen, Scott Fardy
Backs: Zack Holmes. Christian Lealiifano

Gungahlin
Forwards: Dan Palmer, Ita Vaea, Rory Murphy
Backs: Cam Crawford, Henry Speight

Obviously the Wallabies in the squad won't get to play very often, but White said that those clubs are free to use them in a capacity outside of Brumbies commitments. Things like junior sign up day, helping out at Tuesday/Thursday night trainings, jersey presentations.

 

[Slim 293]

Nice!

I just wish Vikings had've got Moore (even though he wouldn't play)...

 

[Lee Grant]

Tim Lane, coach of Manly, won't be real happy if his guys don't play in the Shute Shield.

 

[Brumby Jack]

It's a done deal LG. Jake is adamant they will play in Canberra if they are contracted to the Brumbies and not in the matchday squad.

 

[Lee Grant]

Ouch - Manly will lose 5 by my rough and ready count but the Rats will probably miss their 2 more.

 

[Bowside]

Tim Lane, coach of Manly, won't be real happy if his guys don't play in the Shute Shield.

Slightly off topic but there was a bit in the paper the other day suggesting lane could be in line for a wallabies job (probably as an assistant), in the coming months.

 

[qwerty51]

Ouch - Manly will lose 5 by my rough and ready count but the Rats will probably miss their 2 more.

Norths lose Crawford, Holmes and Sio. Huge losses for them.

 

[Ruggo]

Great move JW.