Leinster’s pre-season ‘Fat Camp’ sounds like a place no player wants to be

2017/18 is drawing ever closer and, for so many excited players, that can only mean one thing - pre-season is nearly over.

The Irish provinces return to Guinness PRO14 [two new teams added] action from September 1 and several will have designs on reaching the final at the Aviva Stadium next May. Well in advance of the new season, The Hard Yards is also back and there was a stellar line-up for the first episode of 2017/18. Bristol and Ireland outhalf joined regulars Ronan O'Gara and Kevin McLaughlin, with Hayley O'Connor of Ladbrokes and Lloyd Burnard of Sport24 also pitching in. Before we looked forward to the new campaign, we looked back to the gruelling weeks of pre-season that most of the players have already endured. McLaughlin [from 6:30 below] shared some excellent tales of pre-seasons past at Leinster and his one trip to 'Fat Camp' he never wanted to repeat. McLaughlin admitted that "unfortunately" he was a former member of that infamous camp. He said:

"I did go through an invincible stage where I thought, 'I can eat whatever I want. I'm never getting fat'. And then, around the age of 24, 25, I got fat over the summer. I had one kebab too many on my holidays and when I came back there was an explosion in my belly [from] those four weeks. "I was sent to fat camp and I found myself doing these real shameful things. We went on tour at one stage and Jason Cowman was S&C [strength and conditioning] coach. The fat boys just had to go for a walk. It was like the walk of shame. "So, at 6:30am one day we had to go outside our hotel and walk around the square outside for around an hour; fast walk. It was shameful stuff... When you're out with the likes of Rossy [Mike Ross] and stuff, you have to question yourself a bit. Luckily, I never found myself in fat camp again."

McLaughlin also recalled some absolutely awful, punishing pre-season sessions when Michael Cheika took over at Leinster. O'Gara and Madigan had some great insights to the pre-season grind too. https://soundcloud.com/thehardyardssportsjoe/ep-25-ian-madigans-time-in-france-rogs-pre-season-and-south-africas-pro14-team You can subscribe to The Hard Yards on iTunes here.