Gnostic
Mark Ella (57)
This is not a topic, rv, where I would claim any special expertise.
My guess would be that perhaps people reach their speed potential by their early twenties, but for collision sports like rugby they seem not to reach physical maturity before their mid twenties. At what age they could be said to "be at the peak of their powers" would depend on a whole range of factors. With our sport there would be a certain amount of physical degeneration with each season played so that a player who was out injured for a season might have his playing career extended by a year.
We need to recognise that in the professional era players are expected to and do play with injuries that have longer term deleterious impacts on their bodies Against this such players are now better advised on rehabilitation and diet, etc, and this may have the opposite effect. But rehab and regeneration require extended periods away from the grind of training for and playing matches.
This is one reason why I feel that a player like Carter may be yet to reach his playing peak. Because he has been so persistently passed over - not making his Super debut until 2008 and never being picked for Australia A let alone the senior squad - he has had time to reinvent himself each year and he still has the spur of unfulfilled ambition. One of the principal reasons why players top out in my view is not so much their age but rather the fact that they have lost their passion and are simply going around for the money.
From a personal perspective I feel that I went over the crest of the hill at least several years back.
It also explains why some elderly players continue to play such great Rugby at the highest levels, because their passion remains undimmed along with their injury status of course. Here I think of players like Richard Hill.