Wairarapa-Bush physio Davide Castorina calling for a stretcher. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
RUGBY
CHRIS COGDALE
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Rugby conditioning and injury prevention will be the focus of a free workshop to be held tomorrow at the Wairarapa-Bush Union’s rooms and Memorial Park.
Wairarapa-Bush team head physiotherapist, Davide Castorina, of TBI Health, and trainer, Scott Cottier, from Specforce Fitness, will run the three-hour theory and practical workshop for rugby players, coaches, referees, parents, and anybody involved in the game.
Originally from Italy, Castorina has been the lead physio for the Wai-Bush team and has worked with the Heartland Under-19 team at the Jock Hobbs Memorial tournament.
Cottier, an ex-army trainer, worked with Wai-Bush throughout their 2019 campaign. Coach Joe Harwood says Cottier’s conditioning programme was a major factor in the team making the Meads Cup semifinals.
Castorina said the workshop would be about conditioning, injury prevention, and improving player welfare, which would lead to better performance.
“I collected data from the seven premier clubs last year on the number of injuries suffered throughout the club season,” he said.
“About a third were soft tissue injuries, and ligament and tendon strains. The aim is to lower those.
“Instead of trying to fix afterwards, we want to work on the weaknesses before the start of the season and try to alleviate future injuries.”
With only six weeks before the start of the season and the likelihood of games being played on rock hard grounds, Castorina said proper preseason preparation would be vital.
“The hard grounds, especially if there’s no turf and the surface is just dirt and uneven, it can possibly increase the chance of injuries.”
Castorina said rugby’s activate programme will be part of the presentation.
“We’ll show the clubs how the programme can reduce the chance of soft tissue injuries by up to 40 per cent and concussion injuries by up to 60 per cent.
“We’ll show them proper warm-ups and good recovery, including hydration and nutrition, which will lead to better performance on the field.”
The workshop will run from 9am to 12 noon.
The eight-team premier club competition is scheduled to start on the weekend of April 4.
