Thousands of eggs and 100 kilos of berries: Inside England’s cutting-edge nutrition plan

Not that this will come as much of a surprise, but England’s players are good eaters. Part of the remit of being big enough to play Test rugby is that there needs to be plenty of intake, which is now carefully monitored by England’s performance nutritionist Dr James Morehen, who also works with Bristol Bears. Morehen’s remit includes coming up with meal plans alongside England Rugby’s head chef, Thomas Kirby, to give England’s players what they need in order to perform. Kirby, through a number of informative videos released so far this year, has revealed just how much food England get through while in camp during one week; 100 kilos of berries and 200 kilos of bananas, up to 150 kilos of potatoes and 25 kilograms of pasta, with players able to build their own pasta dish using a variety of sauces the night before a game. Across an entire Six Nations or summer tour window, between seven to eight weeks, England consume around 15,000 eggs, two-and-a-half tonnes of fruit, nearly a tonne of potatoes and 2,500 litres of milk.