We will be up against it weather-wise but we are arriving early and the players will have two weeks to get used to the English winter.

BBC: Full-strength Manly to face Leeds

In Renaissance Italy, it turns out, there was no end of advice as to how to get them: would-be parents of sons should eschew strong drink, endure abstention to build up their strength and then have intercourse early in the day.

ECONOMIST: Renaissance advice books