FITNESS coach Richard Scrivener's scientific approach to training is making sure Bromsgrove RFC's players are fighting fit for the 2006/2007 campaign in the Midlands Division Two West.

He is part of the coaching revolution at the club that has smashed the old amateur ideals of training and fitness. Instead he plans each player's progress with military like precision.

The image of players being run into the ground as part of their preparations has been smashed by Scrivener, who has worked as a coach at Premier Division side Northampton and with Fulham Football Club.

Now players are given fitness programmes, which are regularly up dated and handed strict diets to help them get down to their fighting weight for playing rugby.

Training is also gradual, building up stamina levels to make sure that the players' fitness improves steadily over the summer months.

Scrivener said: "The exercises the players do have movements in them which are very common in rugby. It's very easy to injure a player while training because they are performing movements that their body is not use to.

"At first we were trying to get the players' base fitness up. The exercises they were doing also incoporate actions and movements they would do while playing, this will reduce the amount of injuries they will get while playing.

"All the players have individual fitness plans and diets drawn up for them to make sure they can be totally ready for the season. It's new for a lot of the players but they have responded very well to what I have been implementing.

"Even the older players, who are not use to these methods, recognise how effective they are and are really responding to them."