Nutrition

FUELLING for GAME day

A person smiling, wearing a team jacket with 'Sale Sharks' logo, standing outdoors with a women's rugby team

Knowing what to eat (and when) around games can be a bit of a minefield, but we’ve teamed up with Sale Sharks Women Nutritionist Beth Vickers to bring you clarity on:

WHAT TO EAT & WHEN PRE, POST & DURING GAME DAY

Game day fuelling

A bowl of oatmeal topped with sliced bananas, chopped nuts, and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

The last pre-game meal should be 3-4 hours before Kick Off to allow food to be fully digested and avoid gut discomfort such as nausea, gut fullness and lethargy.

last meal pre-game

  • 1pm KO: 9am - 10am
    2pm KO: 10am - 11am
    3pm KO: 11am - 12pm
    4pm KO: 12pm - 1pm
    5pm KO: 1pm - 2pm

  • Aim for half the plate to be high carbohydrate options like pasta, bread, bagels noodles, rice etc - or double up your portion.

    For example lean beef spaghetti bolognese with 2 slices of garlic bread.

    Be smart: add fruit juice, jam or sauce to your meal if your appetite is low.

Rows of rectangular flapjack bars on parchment paper on a cooling rack.

last snack before kick off

Aim to eat your last snack around 45 minutes before KO, or regularly graze. This is to top up your energy stores with a quickly digested and absorbed carbohydrate snack.

  • 2pm KO: 1pm-1:15pm
    3pm KO: 2pm-2:15pm
    4pm KO: 3pm-3:15pm
    5pm KO: 4pm-4:15pm

  • Avoid high protein, fibre and fat choices!

    Great snack options include: a banana, a Squares bar, a small packet of baked pretzels, a flapjack, orange juice, Lucozade Sport, Soreen banana loaf bar, or an Energy Gel.

Close-up of a white coffee mug filled with brewed espresso, black coffee.

Caffeine timing

Take caffeine 30-60 minutes before you want it to peak in your system, or 20 minutes before if it is gum / a caffeine pouch. Caffeine can improve endurance performance, focus, decision making, muscle movement and force production, as well as reducing RPE (Rate of perceived exertion).

  • Aim for 2-3mg/ kg body mass.

    For example:

    An 80kg player would need around 160-240mg to elicit performance benefit e.g. 1-2 caffeine shots, 1-2 regular coffees, 1-2 pieces of caffeine gum.

  • Small doses of caffeine within range is generally safe.

    Too much can cause heart palpitations, anxiety, headaches, sleep / gut problems, trembling and impaired fine motor control - not good for rugby and not good for your health and wellbeing either!

    Frequent high intake of caffeine reduces sensitivity which can influence the amount of caffeine you need to impact performance, so less is more.

    Caffeine stays in your system for 5-7 hours so avoid caffeine after 4pm to protect sleep quality.

A bag of Jelly babies sweets spilling onto a white surface, with various fruit-flavored gummy candies visible, including red, yellow, green, black, and orange pieces.

Half time fuelling

Half time fuelling is a crucial opportunity to reduce fatigue and boost stored energy. Aim to consume 30-60g of carbohydrate to replenish what you’ve used in the first half.

  • Good examples of half time snacks include:

    • 5-8 Jelly Babies

    • 1-2 snack packs Haribo

    • 1-2 cereal/granola bars (we like the Nature Valley ones!)

    • 1-3 Soreen Banana Loaf bars

A glass bottle filled with chocolate milk with a purple and white striped straw inside, against a white tiled background.

Post Game Nutrition

Your nutrition in the first hour after the game can make a huge impact on your recovery over the following days. Replacing muscle glycogen (stored carbohydrate) is crucial.

  • The key focus post game is to refuel, repair and rehydrate.

    Refuel = Carbs
    Repair = Protein
    Rehydrate = Fluid

    Good food options for this include things like chocolate milk, protein shakes, pasta dishes (eg. spaghetti bolognaise) or bananas.

    Any food energy post match is better than nothing to kickstart recovery though!

So that’s game day…

Here’s more nutrition content we think you might find useful

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A smiling nutritionist with short blonde hair wearing a black sports jersey with orange and white accents, standing against a plain blue background.

Meet your coach

Beth is a registered sports nutritionist and research assistant who’s spent the last 5 years working across elite and development pathways in rugby, hockey, athletics, and more. She currently works with Sale Sharks women in the PWR and with British Lacrosse as Head of Nutrition, so she knows what it takes to fuel elite athletes!

It’s not just about performance though. Beth also supports NHS staff with complex physical or mental health conditions and neurodiversity.

Learn more