Tokyo (AFP)

Workouts, dietetics, video analysis ... the five French referees selected for the Rugby World Cup in Japan have followed a high level of preparation, in order to meet the canons of the competition and an ever more demanding sport.

Each season, Jérôme Garcès, Romain Poite, Pascal Gaüzère and Mathieu Raynal (retained as central referee), as well as Alexandre Ruiz (touch), each lead some 35 matches between the Top 14, the European Cup and international matches.

They travel six to eight kilometers per game, whose actual playing time continues to climb (up to 45 or even 50 minutes for international matches), such as the "ball in play" (time the ball is on the field). ).

And have the obligation and instructions, to make the right decisions in a context of pressure and increasing stakes, to be "always close to the action in a game that accelerates more and more", says the Technical Director National Arbitration Committee (DTNA), Franck Maciello.

They had to prepare accordingly, despite a short truce: Referee of the Top 14 final on June 18, Jerome Garcès then chained the second week of July by a training camp in Japan, like all referees selected for the World Cup, then by the Rugby Championship.

"I advised them to really cut for two weeks and start over a week, which was the sine qua non for recovering and preparing for the World Cup," says Mickaël Simon, DTNA fitness trainer for six months. years.

For the five globalists, Simon has put together a "tailor-made" program to keep everyone in "maximum fitness".

"We did quality maintenance, we mixed the forms of preparation and we never stuck on one type of activity," says the trainer who had to "sometimes juggle" and "enjoy a few weekends without matches to place resistance sessions ".

- Skin folds -

An important attention was put on the dietetics of the referees, weighed and whose skin folds were measured in order to know their level of hydration and their greasy mass.

"It will be my third World Cup, we are trying to build on things that have worked, but also those that have not worked," said Jérôme Garcès.

The referee and his four colleagues showed results beyond the objectives set for them during the course organized for all French referees just before the resumption of the Top 14, the third week of August in Saint-Lary-Soulan (Hautes-Pyrénées).

In particular in terms of VMA (maximum aerobic speed). "There is no miracle formula, but we will not be able to say that they are not fit," says Franck Maciello.

They have also started the video analysis of the teams they will find in Japan. "We try to identify behaviors, forms of play, to better position ourselves, make better decisions and if problems arise during the screenings, we will exchange with the teams," says Romain Poite. "Because we do not try to illustrate ourselves, we try to prevent rather than heal."

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