To wonder who makes rugby players (lighthearted)

[BumpowderSneezeonAndSnot]

And how much do they cost you in food while they grow into these incredible hulks?

None of the guys on the pitch in either of the 6 nations matches are small so who is making them and are you as parents also similarly sized?

Having said that I’ve also dated rugby players who weighed about the same as me - fly halfs etc. Short, stocky, pure fast muscle. Huge appetites too, just on a smaller scale. Good in bed

wistfully recalls university years

Also my great grandad captained the welsh squad 17 times so genetics plays a part in physique.
My great grandad was very broad across the chest and had very powerful legs

This is my great Grandad

On the subject of rugby players’ thighs, I was once stuck at an airport with the entire Newport Dragons squad. It was the most enjoyable flight delay of my life so far.

I’m not a pervert, I swear

@dizzybintess that's a proper rugby players face if ever I saw one! brilliant photo!

Oh gosh @dizzy, good old fashioned welsh rugby playing stock there. What a fab photo!

Wales cap!!! Awesome!

He captained wales 14 times.
He was in ww1 and learned to play in the trenches. He really has got the look of an old school rugby player about him x

What an incredible person to have in your family tree!

This is him In everyday clothes and you can see how unusual his body type was in the 1920s

We are very proud of him and have all his memorabilia split between the 6 great grandchildren. He even has a Wikipedia page which is cool xx

I think my grandad would have sympathise he was 6'4 (born 1912) with size 14 feet but was skin and bone and was a rower not a rugby player. He also looked funny in clothing of the time. It's like men their size shouldn't have existed

Not rugby but my grandad was a wrestler, my uncle a heavyweight boxer. I was never going to have a petite delicate frame

Cool xxx

BrimFire

DH is in his 30s & always struggled to find a choice of shoes/trainers in his size before internet shopping took off. I worked in Russell & Bromley as a teen and we carried hardly any stock of the larger sizes for men & women.

The funny thing is, if you look at rugby teams from 30 years ago, so when the World Cup was first being played, they just look like normal men.

It's only relatively recently that rugby players have morphed into hulks.

I mentioned above that my DH, his dad and his grandad were rugby players (pro). We have girls but DD2 has been 98th centile for height and weight since birth (EBF, she was 8lbs at birth and 14lbs at her 6 week check!). She definitely has a rugby players physique

Is it because people in general are getting bigger in terms of height & build? Better nutrition etc. Amongst people my age I’m tall but average compared to teens. I have 2 friends with size 3 feet (5ft 4) & they really struggle to get shoes nowadays outside of the kids section.

Crikey Dizzy, that's really something to be proud of. My Welsh DH is properly impressed.

DH used to play prop 1 loose head. Not entirely sure what this is, but think it means he was at the front somewhere. DH is a proper lump and has the best thighs I've ever seen on a man, bar none His two mates who played next to him (tight head and hooker) are also proper lumps. All parents are completely average size.

Captain of the All Blacks, 1987.

Can you imagine the likes of Carling, Guscott, Catt and the Underwoods playing now?

I have a 12yo second row. He was 9lb 11oz and 23 inches long at birth - I'm 4'11" tall!

He eats a lot of protein based food (devoured 12oz steaks in the USA) but doesn't like complex carbs much. I buy a lot of eggs and cheese!

My son played alongside a number of the current England team and premiership players. Some of them were just naturally mature and huge aged 13/14. Their strength and physical dominance gave them an advantage and the confidence to do well on match situations.
It's one of the reasons I think we should adopt the policy of playing teams basecaround weight rather than age.

It's why autumn borns statistically dominate, as do those who mature early.

Pagwatch I agree. And all of my hefty rellies were born between Sep to Nov. And one in April but he’s a nutter.

Feeding them when young I understood. Two are married now but when they walk in they still raid the fridge and food cupboards lol