Durability. If the walls in and around the Sixways players’ tunnel have ears, it’s a word that will seep through every breeze-block and brick by the end of the long, looming Guinness Premiership season.
If Bob Stewart has his way, it’ll also be a word that crops up in conversation around the lounges and bars too – because Warriors’ new Director of Sports Medicine is a man on a mission.
In a brutal contact sport like rugby, you’re not going to escape injuries every week. Heaven knows, the weekly Sixways casualty list’s proof of that fact of life. But the Glaswegian’s focus – in league with Strength and Conditioning Co-ordinator Keir Hansen and the rest of John Brain’s backroom team – is to prevent where possible, then repair and rehabilitate as rapidly as treatment allows.
It’s a focus that hasn’t been as strong or as sharp in the Warriors operation before.
“What we’re looking to do is provide the players with the best possible medical back-up,” explains the softly-spoken 32-year-old, whose skills had taken him to New Zealand and back, via the NHS and tours with the British Lions and Scottish national squads before Worcester crooked an inviting finger.
“We’ve got a World Cup coming up,” he adds. “Ailie and I have a two-year-old wee girl, and she’s becoming more and more important to me. The last World Cup I was away from home for about 26 weeks during the year, which is a long time.
“I knew a couple of guys in Glasgow who’d played here before. They spoke very positively about their experiences, and I was delighted to be offered it.
“It’s a big decision to move but I think, by the end of the first few days, I was pretty sure I’d made the right decision. The facilities are excellent and the player and the management group are great.”
His new responsibility at Sixways covers everything from physiotherapy to rehabilitation, to preventative medicine to GP services, to specialists like orthopaedics and radiology. They all have to work together.
Building on what already existed, his aim is simple – when players are out, a seamless programme of treatment and recovery sees them return to battle in better shape than before they were injured. That way, they’ll find it easier to integrate back into training and rugby. So far, the new Sixways method is working well.
“What we’ve tried to put into place, the boys, to be fair, have taken on board,” he adds. “It”s a great opportunity to develop a new culture within the medical and the fitness side of things and move things forward. I think that really has to be my goal, but it’s not going to happen overnight.
“The key word is durability. We’re trying to make players durable. You’re not going to get off scot-free every week. You’ve just got to accept that. If we can prevent certain types of injuries happening through screening and preventative work, it keeps the players fitter for longer, and happier, because they’ll be available for selection more than they were before. That keeps the coaches happy, because they’ve got a bigger squad to pick from every week.”