As a rugby player you should always limit your alcohol intake and if you are under the age of 18 you should not be drinking any alcohol.

Drinking alcohol before exercise negatively affects skills such as reaction time, balance, accuracy, hand-eye co-ordination, strength, power and endurance and impairs body temperature regulation.

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Drinking alcohol after a match interferes with the recovery of your body’s carbohydrate stores, acts as a diuretic increasing urinary fluid losses and so aggravates dehydration. Alcohol also has a vasodilatory effect, which can increase bleeding and swelling, delaying or slowing recovery and rehabilitation from injury (Refer to Injury & Rehabilitation).

Practical tips:

• Stick to the 24-hr rule avoiding alcohol in the 24-hours before a match and in the 24 hours after a match if any soft tissue injuries or bruising have occurred. Some teams may have an actual ban on alcohol intake!
• 2. After training or a match, first rehydrate and refuel with carbohydrates and fluid before drinking alcoholic drinks, which in any case should be limited. Ensure plenty non-alcoholic drinks are available.
• 3. Note that although some alcoholic beverages do contain carbohydrate (e.g. beer) the alcohol content of the drink affects performance and so you should rather resort to other more appropriate sources of carbohydrate (Refer to Carbohydrate). – (Shelly Meltzer and associates, consultant dieticians to SARugby, www.sarugby.net)

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