It was a late call, just before the tournament began, but World Rugby confirmed it would implement water breaks midway through both halves of matches during natural stoppages in play. The process, as was shown over the eight Rugby World Cup matches played during the opening weekend, is managed by the referee.
There has been agreement in the Irish camp that players are supportive and find it beneficial.
Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris have all spoken about managing the current temperatures in the south of France, which were in the oppressive mid-30s for Ireland’s opening game against Romania. Rugby is not alone in innovating against potentially dangerous heat to protect athletes.
At the Australian Open tennis Grand Slam, played in Melbourne’s summertime in January, they use a heat stress scale designed by the University of Sydney to work out when player safety kicks in and play should be stopped.
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It was enforced at this year’s event for the first time as temperatures exceeded 35 degrees and the humidity forced the stress scale to reach 5, where play is suspended.
Ireland used the new water-break system to their advantage in the first match, although it was with some dismay that, as the back room team wheeled on trolleys of cold towels and drinks in the first half of the match, the Romanians stood in their waterless positions waiting for the Irish players to quench their thirst before the referee told Ireland to hurry up. Romania rectified the problem in the second half when bottles of water were brought on.
But the introduction of the water break was a move of which Wales coach Warren Gatland disapproved before his side’s opening win over Fiji on Sunday.
“No, I wouldn’t support [water breaks], not particularly,” said Gatland before the tournament while, as always, seeking a competitive edge. “We would like the ball on the park as often as we could; we’re in pretty good shape physically.”
Van der Flier and Doris normally wear scrum caps. However, due to the heat factor Van der Flier dispensed with his, while Doris kept with tradition. Van der Flier’s reasoning for normally wearing a scrum cap is that it gives limited protection to his head, although not from concussion. Several studies undertaken have found no difference in concussion rates between players who did and did not wear scrum caps.
The Irish flanker’s decision to forgo the scrum cap on entry into the match against Romania from the bench was carefully considered.
“I tried wearing it in training in Portugal and I really, really struggled,” said the Irish open side. “It’s just an extra bit of heat and it makes a big difference when you take it off. I did notice that it just feels different not having a scrum cap on but definitely glad not to have it in this heat.”
“Last World Cup, I didn’t wear it for the first game, then I got a cut on my head, so I had to start wearing it. So, I had done it before. But I would probably be more comfortable wearing it. Glad not to have it today. It was very hot.””
Doris severely felt the heat and humidity but also other factors also came into play during the match.
“Especially with the scrum cap on, I was melting at times,” said the Irish backrow. “The water breaks definitely helped. The ball was a bit slippy, which led to a few scrums and a few stoppages.
“So we did get breaks here and there but we were overheating massively. The ball, a slippy ball adds another element to it, but just the heat and trying to persevere with that as well. We had spoken about it. We had a week in Portugal, we had a week in Biarritz, so we were somewhat accustomed to it. We didn’t want to let that be a factor, let that be an excuse. We are pretty happy.”
There will be some respite. Wales’s game against Fiji, played in the same stadium in Bordeaux as Ireland’s opening match, was almost 10 degrees cooler as it began at 9pm French time, reflecting the difference between the afternoon heat of a 3.30pm start. Ireland will have an evening kick-off when they play at the weekend against Tonga in Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes.
That, at least is what Van der Flier has in mind.
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“I was thinking before the tournament that 9pm is so late,” he said. “It’s a really long day, but then when I saw the weather in the captain’s run yesterday, I said I’d happily play at midnight if it’s a bit cooler.
“It should make a big difference. Even in the first half [against Romania], most of the pitch was in the sun, [in the] second half ... it almost felt like a break when you got into the other half of the field where it was a bit shaded.”
On this one Gatland seems comfortably in a minority.
