The men's 'Red Roses' are ready to bloom again. The English Rugby squad, captained by Jamie George, will kick off the Nations Championship against the South African Springboks on July 4. And the team is not shying away from grasping the nettle.

After a disappointing Six Nations performance back in March this year, placing fifth out of the six competing teams, Steve Borthwick's Red and Whites have left no stone unturned in their preparation for the sizzling pitch on Saturday.

In a recent Instagram reel shared by England on June 27, the squad was seen in full force, with their strenuous yet intentionally crafted training regimen. The workout included ball passes, functional training, and strength exercises.

The team's first session in the South African venue, as the video noted, was more about studying the pitch and adapting to the unknown variables there.

Therefore, England kept it intense and intentional, with neck conditioning drills, weighted push-ups, and quick upright rows, among other exercises, to train their twitch muscles.

Moreover, the training camp goes even beyond the gym racks or the pitch. The English rugby players are replicating the atmosphere of the away pitch as well.

The English Rugby Union prepares for Ellis Park's altitude

The Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, sits at 1753 meters above mean sea level, 400m higher than even the tallest peak in the UK.

Undoubtedly, the towering altitudes would be a decisive factor in the game, with decreased oxygen levels and a thinner atmosphere. To accommodate the extreme conditions at Ellis Park, the England Rugby team has admitted to training with “portable hypoxic generators.”

According to the England Rugby website, in the lead-up to the challenge, the team trained on Watt Bikes with masks on their faces to restrict the oxygen available to them.

According to strength and conditioning coach Nathan Beardsley, there is also a mental factor to playing at higher altitudes.

“In a rugby scenario, it’s the breathlessness. Physiologically, you’ve got that breathlessness, and you’re just trying to get your breath back, but then mentally that would then stack on top of the occasion and the stature of the match,” he explained.

Moreover, due to decreased pressure, utilizing the oxygen by the blood becomes difficult. To approach that climb, the team is on a higher protocol, working out at 3,500 metres on the machine. That is double the altitude the men will be expecting at Ellis Park.

Clearly, the English Rugby team is firing on all fronts in their preparation against the Springboks. Can they flip the narrative of their doom against the South African fields? Comment below.

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Written by

Proma Chatterjee

Edited by

Yash Kotak