Since rugby turned professional in 1995, the size and strength of a rugby player has played an increasingly important role in an individuals development and playing career. While most aspiring rugby players spend countless hours on the field and in the gym, they often pay far less attention to what they put into their body, which science has now proven can have just as much, if not more of an effect on an athlete than their training program. Dr Kate Pumpa is an accredited exercise physiologist and sports dietitian who has spent a good portion of her professional career researching how nutrition can be used to maximise the performance of rugby players. Since completing her PhD at the Australian Institute of Sport, Pumpa has worked as a sports dietitian for Irish club Leinster and the ACT Brumbies and is now Rugby Australia and the Wallabies head performance dietitian. “Nutrition for rugby has definitely become a lot more science based in recent years,” Pumpa told Rugby N