| |
Size has nothing to do with declaring big burly rugby players fit for play; and for the Fiji national rugby team, physiotherapist Cathy Wong has the last say when it comes to decision time.
Hard knocking players and international coaches bow to the professional advice this tiny bespectacled fitness instructor dishes out because she is seldom wrong.
While the coach's role is to monitor and supervise tactics, ball skills, play patterns and team strategy on the field, Cathy rules when it comes to medical assessments and ensuring fitness levels are where they should be.
But that's not to say she's no authority on Fiji's favourite sport.
Fiji may have lost to the All Blacks by a sizeable margin 68-18, but in Cathy's estimate Fiji played exceptionally well.
"Their performance during the game does not reflect the gutsiness of the boys," she said.
World Rugby Cup fever is starting to sizzle across the Tasman with Samoa and Fiji earning their Pool B and Pool C placing for the 20-nation battle of rugby union supremos.
In the heat of international rugby tests anywhere in the world, Cathy keeps a watchful eye over her boys on the field from the sideline. She's the one who races on the field when a player is down injured and she determines if a player can continue.
The sight of naked muscles and bare sweaty torsos is all in a day's work for Cathy. Inside the change rooms she's just one of the boys. "I am a medical person, I see these things all the time. What goes on inside the change rooms stay there".
Players join the training camp with a full medical report from their club which makes Cathy's job easier, but each player is assessed on his position on the field.
"I check their joints and muscles. The forwards I need to see if their
necks are strong, in the backline their lower backs and hamstrings need to be flexible and for the locks or flankers I make sure their shoulders are in firm working condition," Cathy says.
|
|
 |
|
