Wales face Japan in the middle of the afternoon, with temperatures and humidity set to reach extreme levels
Wales are hopeful of having cooling breaks in Saturday’s first Test against Japan in Kitakyushu, just days after World Rugby confirmed they had updated their heat and air quality guidelines.
Matt Sherratt’s side are preparing to take on Eddie Jones’ Brave Blossoms this Saturday, with Wales working on the basis that there could be some sort of respite from the stifling heat on the weekend. Last week saw World Rugby set out the measures to be taken to support players in hot conditions, with new guidelines focusing on a heat stress index rather than just the basic air temperature.
The index is calculated from a number of different factors, including air temperature, humidity, wind speed and ground radiation. A reading on matchday will then result in a level being produced from one of five categories.
The new levels run between 0 and 250, with 0-99 seeing teams just follow standard practice.
100 to 149 sees players take on more fluids and reduce the amount of clothing worn. 150 to 199 will introduce a three-minute cooling break in each half, while teams will also implement cooling strategies such as iced towels.
200 to 249 would see half-time extended to 20 minutes, while anything over 250 would result in the consideration of the game being delayed or suspended.
Given the nature of gathering the reading, Wales won’t know whether there will be any breaks until matchday.
Sherratt’s side, who are searching for a first Test win in nearly two years, having been preparing for the heat back in Wales, using chambers to replicate the heat and humidity before training sessions.
“Our S&C, nutritionist and medical staff have got very good medical plans in place with our heat packs, our ice and recovery – trying to have as many breaks within the allotted time,” said assistant coach T. Rhys Thomas. “We’re hoping the strategy is going to go with heat restrictions almost in place, with a few breaks.
“We’ve been training for that accordingly. But as you can imagine at this level, it’s all been taken care of. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack for the exclusive five-week tour diary from Japan and Australia.
“A lot of the heat preparation went on before we came out, with the heat rooms and training in the conditions that we were expecting. So it’s all been prepared for.”
Temperatures so far in Kitakyushu have been over 30°C, with that set to rise in the coming days. The build-up to the second Test in Kobe is likely to be even warmer, with humidity.
In one of Wales’ early training sessions in Japan, the squad of 33 players used 144 litres of water in a 60-minute session – not just for drinking, but for cooling themselves down too.
Tuesday’s session was longer, with more water having been used.
There are eight ice baths at the side of the pitch, with players required to spend a minimum of five minutes in there. Having previously used 450kg of ice in one session, Tuesday’s training saw that raised to 500kg.
“We had a tough training session this morning,” said Aaron Wainwright. “We had a couple of soaking wet, ice cold flannel hats to put on. Some ice towels and cold water bottles.
“Hopefully that helps us recover for today and hopefully we get to use some of that in the game as well. I think we’ve prepped well at home at the Vale. Training has been hard so hopefully that puts us in good stead for the weekend.”
“I’ve been to Turkey and that’s one of the hottest environments I’ve been in. This is definitely right up there, especially humidity wise.
“As soon you’re stepping outside, you’re borderline sweating straight away. It’s going to be tough. Hopefully the prep we’ve done plays a big part on the weekend.”
