Tri-Nations - Deans calls for increase in fitness

Eurosport - Thu, 23 Apr 08:54:00 2009

Australia coach Robbie Deans has turned to the country's two-time world squash champion David Palmer in a bid to increase the Wallabies' fitness.

Robbie Deans - Australia - 0

Deans, who plays club squash regularly, believes super-fit Palmer could help alleviate the Wallabies' second-half fadeouts.

With the Bledisloe Cup series locked at 1-1 last year, the Wallabies built up leads over the All Blacks in the third and fourth Tests only to be over-run in the closing period of both games.

Palmer, 32, has a reputation on the world squash tour for his remarkable stamina and the conditioning idea came about when former world number one gave Deans the run-around in a squash game recently.

Deans said Palmer's fitness techniques were just what his Wallabies needed.

"Teach them about perseverance; how do you keep going when your legs are gone. That's what our blokes need to learn," Deans said.

"Staying composed when fatigue strikes - it's a big advantage. The strength is minimising that recovery time."

Palmer, who has also won four British Opens, said he would love to assist the Wallabies when there was a break in his playing schedule.

"There's so many different aspects to squash. It's endurance, it's speed, there's flexibility, there's tactics, there's the mental side - the tactical intimidation," Palmer said.

"Using the squash type of training in rugby would be beneficial."

AFP

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