Tuesday 1 December 2015 16:59, UK
Rugby union is still a game for all shapes and sizes but the professional era has transformed our international players into world-class athletes.
The recent World Cup highlighted the skills and sheer physicality of these players as the demand for faster, fitter and stronger players grows. Size is not everything and being large is no longer enough as rugby has evolved into a sport of hyper-fit men and women who push the boundaries of human ability.
MaxiNutrition has analysed the growth of players and the evolution of the sport in general. They've produced a graphic that looks at the changes made throughout the years that have had a clear impact on the size of players and also looked at how that increased size affects the game.
Their research shows just how drastic these size increases are. As an example, the average weight of players on the England team was 92.3kg in 1994. Just 20 years later, that average was 105.1kg! That's an increase of almost 13kg (two stone).
While there are still smaller players that flourish (remember Japan versus South Africa?) it's clear more demand than ever is placed on players to get bigger.
The All Blacks
Nowhere is this increase in size more evident than in the All Blacks. The average team size went from 179.6cm and 84.4kg in 1947 to 186.5cm and 104.4kg in 2015.
Meanwhile, their prop, increased by 24.5kg from 93.5kg in 1947 to 118kg in 2015.
Bigger players means bigger tackles
But what effect does the increased height and weight have? Research shows that a 20% increase in height and a 44% increase in strength leads to a 73% increase in inertia - which means bigger and more successful tackles. In less than 10 years, successful tackles went up by 79 per game.
More tackles means more injuries and especially more concussion which is the sport's biggest concern at the moment. We have seen the likes of George North and Mike Brown suffer concussion recently but the long-term effects of concussion on players still needs plenty of research.
Former Ireland flanker Kevin McLaugh was forced to retire from the game in September, as was former Wales flanker Jonathan Thomas who was diagnosed with epilepsy brought on by repetitive head trauma.
World Rugby have serious concerns and are looking into law changes around tackling in an attempt to improve player safety. However players will continue to get bigger, faster and stronger which will continue to be safety issue as the impacts will get bigger and stronger as well. So, just how big, is too big?
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