Six Nations 2025: What's life like in the Scotland camp?
2025-01-30
Category: sports

Six Nations: Scotland v ItalyVenue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh Date: Saturday, 1 February Time: 14: 15 GMTCoverage: Watch live on BBC One, listen on Radio 5 live, Radio Scotland & BBC Sounds, and follow live on the BBC Sport website and app.
As the Six Nations roars into life, much of the focus will be on the matches themselves. But what people don't see is the work done behind the scenes, where every effort is being made by players and coaches alike to find the decisive small gains.Countless hours are poured in to help create championship-winning teams, but what exactly does that entail? How do players prepare for Test match rugby?Former Scotland captain Fraser Brown competed in multiple Six Nations and gave BBC Scotland an insight into what will be going on in camp before Gregor Townsend's side take on Italy at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Caffeine fuel & omelettes made to order
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, as the old adage goes, so what does an international rugby player eat to fuel up for a hard day's training?"The spread's usually quite good these days, so kind of whatever you want," said Brown, who played 61 times for Scotland between 2013 and 2023."There's cereal, there'll be poached eggs, scrambled eggs, omelettes made to order. I think Zander Fagerson usually takes all of the above."It's just what you usually have. If you're usually a big breakfast guy, you have a big breakfast. If you have a coffee and some toast, you'll have some coffee and toast."You'll probably catch up with your calories for the rest of the day. Then it swings a little bit more towards matchday prep as you get towards the end of the week."
'Handshakes & cheap digs' - what does week look like?
Legendary Scotland and Lions coach Jim Telfer famously used to flog his players in training to get them battle-hardened for the demands of Test match rugby.The days of endless scrummaging practice and ferocious rucking sessions leading up to a game are a thing of the past, so what does a training week look like for a modern-day player ahead of a Six Nations opener?"Monday's usually quite light, and then Tuesday and Wednesday will be heavy days," Brown explained. "Then it's just nice and light towards the end of the week."But from a psychological point of view, it will completely switch. There'll be lots of learning at the start of the week. Then as you taper down your training and you get more time off your feet, then the anticipation towards gameday builds."Whereas those outside the inner sanctum only discover the matchday squad later in the week, players get a sense of who has got the nod days before."Normally on a Monday, there'd be a walkthrough and you tend to get bibs handed out to those that are in the team," Brown said. "So you can kind of figure it out then."Officially on a Tuesday morning, there's usually a team presentation. Then at the end of that, there'll be a little video that goes up with the 23 on it and then a little round of applause, some handshakes and pats on the back."In every team, most people call it Test Match Tuesday. So normally after the team has been announced, there's then a bit of full contact through either units or rugby sessions and Test Match Tuesday comes out."That's your opportunity to lay a marker down, say that you should have been picked, or have a cheap dig. There's always a little bit of friction."
How else do players pass the time?
Lavish breakfast buffets, fancy hotels and access to top-class medical treatment - it would be easy to think the life of a rugby player is a charmed one.The sacrifices are many, though. Getting clobbered by huge physical specimens on a regular basis takes its toll, for one.Long spells spent away from family and friends in the team bubble is another challenge, so how do the players keep themselves occupied in their down time?"Some people just sit around," Brown said. "We actually used to play a game we called Mafia, which most people will probably know as Traitors on BBC."It's a game that we used to play without cards. That usually lasts two or three hours. A lot of the boys play it. It's usually about 20 or 25 people that buy in."Current Scotland back row Matt Fagerson confirmed that players do still find ways to entertain themselves through video games and general camaraderie.The 26-year-old is also grateful for the occasional rest day in the busy schedule - a chance to get away from the pressures of the Six Nations."I really look forward to the days off, getting home and seeing my wife and a couple of dogs," Fagerson said. "I like to park rugby when I get in the door and spend a lot of time with them."In and around camp there's a couple of new games going around and the team room's got a lot of entertainment - ping pong, there's the Fifa court, so it makes life easier."