Supplements for UK rugby players
Answer
Most supplement marketing sells an outcome that has never been assessed. Every page here gives the dose, the active content, the cost per day, and what may legally be claimed. Nothing else.
Key takeaways
- What does this site cover?
- Magnesium, marine collagen, omega 3 and lion's mane, plus creatine, protein, zinc and the anti-doping questions around them.
- Who is it for?
- Adult club and amateur rugby players in the UK. Not professionals with a nutritionist, and not under 18s.
- What makes it different?
- It reads the claims register rather than the marketing, and it says when a product does not carry a claim, including its own.
- Who publishes it?
- Futuro Labs, whose products are linked on Amazon. That is disclosed on every page carrying a link.
Start with a product
Four products, ordered by the strength of what can actually be claimed for them rather than by how heavily they are marketed. That ordering is not the one the category usually presents.
- MagnesiumThe fullest claim set of the four. Cramp, sweat losses, sleep after evening training, and how much a player actually needs. 22p a day.
- Omega 3One met claim, and the clearest dietary gap in a club squad. EPA, DHA and the 250mg threshold almost nobody reaches from food. 17p a day.
- Marine collagenNo claim of its own. Tendons, ligaments, scrum loading, and the vitamin C that carries the only claim in the category. 28p a day.
- Lion's maneNo authorised claim of any kind. What the research actually shows, and what it costs to be curious. 13p a day.
- Everything elseCreatine, protein, zinc, electrolytes and the rest, with the claim position for each.
Or start with the question you came with
Most people arrive here with something specific rather than a product in mind. These are the pages that answer the questions asked most often.
- I cramp in the second halfThe most asked question in rugby supplements, and the one with the weakest evidence behind the usual answer.
- Could this get me banned?Strict liability, contamination risk, and how to check a batch. Read this before anything else if you could be tested.
- How do I read the label?The four numbers that decide almost every purchase, and where each one hides.
- How much should I be spending?What a sensible stack costs per day, per season and per year, with the arithmetic shown.
- What should I actually take?Built by claim strength: what to add, in what order, and where to stop.
- Is it even doing anything?How to run the experiment properly, and why most self-assessments are worthless.
What can actually be claimed
This table is the whole site in one place. Every claim below is on the GB nutrition and health claims register, at the stated condition of use. Everything absent from it is absent because it has not been assessed and accepted, which is a stronger statement than it sounds.
Read down the right-hand column and you have the honest ordering of this category.
| Product | Cost per day | What it can claim |
|---|---|---|
| Magnesium | 22p | Normal muscle function, protein synthesis, electrolyte balance, energy metabolism, nervous system and psychological function, reduction of tiredness and fatigue |
| Omega 3 | 17p | EPA and DHA contribute to normal heart function, at 250mg combined a day |
| Marine collagen | 28p | Nothing of its own. The vitamin C alongside it claims normal collagen formation |
| Lion's mane | 13p | Nothing. No authorised claim of any kind exists in the UK |
| Creatine, for comparison | not sold here | Increases physical performance in successive bursts of short term high intensity exercise, at 3g a day |
What every page gives you
- A direct answer in forty words or fewer, before any preamble.
- The dose, and the active or elemental content rather than the compound weight on the front of the pack.
- The cost per day, worked out from pack price divided by servings rather than by capsules.
- What may legally be claimed, in the authorised wording, at the stated threshold.
- What to check on a label before buying anything, including from someone else.
- The sources, named and linked, at the bottom of every page.
Label literacy, which transfers to anything
The most useful pages here are not about a product at all. They are the method: how to work out what is actually in a capsule, from a panel, in about ninety seconds. That skill works on any brand on any shelf, including ones this site will never mention.
- How to work out elemental magnesiumWhy 1500mg on the front can mean 300mg in the capsule, with the conversion for every common form.
- How to read EPA and DHA on a fish oil labelWhy a total omega 3 figure is the least useful number on the pack.
- How to read a marine collagen labelType, source, hydrolysis, dose, and the vitamin C that decides whether any claim can be made.
- How to check a lion's mane extract ratioConverting a mushroom equivalent figure into the extract you are actually buying.
- What to avoid on a supplement labelThe red flags, and precisely what each one removes from your ability to compare.
What this site will not do
It will not name a competitor supplement brand, in a comparison or a criticism. Pages that would naturally do so answer with criteria you can apply yourself instead, which is more useful and lasts longer.
It will not give supplement guidance for anyone under 18, and it will not connect any product to concussion or head injury. It will not invent a claim for a product that does not have one, including the products it sells. Three of the four have no claim of their own, and the pages say so.
- Why under 18s are not covered hereAnd who to ask instead.
- Is there an effective joint supplement?A worked example of the house position, applied to a category the site sells into.
Who writes it and who pays for it
Every page is written by Tom Francis, who is not a dietitian, a doctor or a sports scientist. What he does is read labels, the claims register and the guidance carefully, and refuse to write past what they say. The author page sets out exactly what that is worth and what it is not.
Sharper Rugby is published by Futuro Labs and links to their products on Amazon UK, earning a commission on sales. That is disclosed on every page carrying a link, in the product block rather than in the footer. It is also why the claim position of every Futuro Labs product is stated on the page, including that none of the four is batch certified for sport.
Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate is described here as a 300mg elemental serving at 22p a day and nothing more, because that is what the register allows. Futuro Labs Lion's Mane is described as having no authorised claim at all, which is an odd thing for a publisher to print about a product it sells, and it is the reason to trust the rest of the site.
- About the authorWhat he is, what he is not, and the method every page follows.
- Editorial policyHow claims are sourced, what is never published, and how corrections are handled.
- About Sharper RugbyWhat the site is for and how it is put together.
Questions players ask
What does Sharper Rugby cover?
Magnesium, marine collagen, omega 3 and lion's mane, plus creatine, protein, zinc and the anti-doping questions around them.
Who is it written for?
Adult club and amateur rugby players in the UK.
Does it cover under 18s?
No. Every figure used here is an adult reference value, and supplement guidance for minors is a question for a GP or registered dietitian.
Is it independent?
No, and it says so on every page. It is published by Futuro Labs and links to their products, with the claim position for each stated plainly.
Are the products certified for sport?
None of the four Futuro Labs products is batch certified. Any player who could be tested should choose a product that is.
Where do the claims come from?
The GB nutrition and health claims register, quoted in the authorised wording at the stated condition of use.