“The Poland camp really helped. I went into that 100 per cent fi t and came out of it 100 per cent fi t after doing an awful lot of training out there and my conditioning was the best it has ever been.


“We needed the time together for the coaches to get us into that shape, that was a long old summer, real hard training on the fi tness but also the rugby areas they thought would would be vital in the World Cup.


“It was not fun out there, I am not going to lie - I did not enjoy Poland at all but the fact it paid off means I would gladly go back any time. No matter how hard and how horrible it is there, the benefi ts were clear to see.


“The way Wales like to play there is a high workload for the front fi ve and you have to be at a high level of fi tness to do it well.


“We are asked to do all the donkey work, the back row get the glory and the backs get even more glory. That is the way it has always been, if I was faster and more skilful I would play in the backs, but we are happy because we know our roles in the team – if we can watch the backs running in the tries then happy days.”


So what did Warren Gatland see in 6'10” Charteris? The problem was not the obvious assets, but keeping them in one piece, however it still surprised quite a few when Gatland announced in New Zealand that the Dragons player was now his number one second row ahead of Alun Wyn Jones and Bradley Davies.


“We are all slightly different body shapes and body sizes and that is the beauty of


rugby. As you get older you get to know what is best for you in training and how to look after your body,” he explained.


“I was happy with the way things were going at the time and it is always good to get recognition, but that opinion can change on the back of one game.


“The good thing about Wales and what is pushing me is that there are so many good second rows, Brad and Alun Wyn are superb players, but it is not just those two because there are more guys behind that as well.


“There is now competition in a large part of the squad and we are now seeing the benefi ts of that.”


There have always been extra tall second rows who have played a vital part in winning ball, as well as contributing round the pitch, but Charteris was a talented athlete in his youth competing in the sprint hurdles.


“I was a lot lighter back then and it was a bit easier to run, not so easy when you are twenty stone plus, but it does mean I have always enjoyed a fast and open game,” he said.


“When I was younger it was really hard to put weight on, I always weighed between 105-110 kgs (around 17st), that was too light for international rugby or even possibly professional rugby and that was why I got a few more injuries back then.


“It is not something you can just do in one off-season, but a lot of time has been spent in the weights room and I have got the weight up. At one point I was probably too heavy and it was harder to run around.


“Now I am around 125 kgs and that is about right, a nice balance between being big enough for the scrum and contact area but still being able to run round the park.


“It takes work to maintain this – my natural weight is probably fi ve or six stone, but I know what I need to do now.


“I do spend a lot of time in the gym doing rehab and prehab, we are trying pre-empt injuries and certain parts of the body need more attention. Everyone is doing the same amount of work, but everything is tailored individually, I have a different programme to Alun Wyn and Bradley.


“I have a pretty long list of things, but it is all geared to avoiding injury as much as you can.”


Picking your current Lions team is one of the favourite games for rugby fans in the Northern hemisphere, however unrealistic it would be. On the back of the World Cup, most people would have a fully fi t Charteris in theirs, but he is not getting carried away.


“I have been around long enough to know you can rise and fall pretty quickly. There is a long time before now and next season, the summer tour to Australia, all sorts of things to aim at. If you want to achieve long term goals like the Lions then it will need a lot of hard work.”


Another injury break to come back from, but still there is the feeling that the last few months have changed a lot of things for Charteris.


sportingwales issue19twothousand&twelve


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