On the morning of Monday the 10th of October David Carey and Matt ‘the Rock’ Watkins took over the role of ‘duty bods’: their day started like any other, cloud and light rain filled the cold Penrith skies; Al Blewitt slurped down his early morning protein fix and the front row house, self-named Griffindor, waddled up the Officers’ Mess path for their usual three course breakfast.
The boys met at 0900 and after a quick change of clothing, training was underway; fortunately within minutes the weather changed and the boys were basking in the warm spring sun. After some focused passing drills and the normal Dave Hankinson warm up, the boys split down into forwards and backs.
The backs gathered together and, after removing their tops and smoothing sun cream on one another, undertook some basic passing exercises. Rory Wood’s scrum half pass required some direct mentoring from Head Coach Tug Wilson, but his advice paid off and Rory was throwing the ball around like a miniature Mike Philips.
Nathan Jones, a well known pilot at RAF Brize Norton, said ‘it was a great session this morning and I particularly enjoyed smoothing the sun cream over some of the younger players particularly Pilot Officer Lloyd Owen’.
The forwards undertook some lineout practise, running through all the moves including the driving mauls, before joining up with the backs for some final exercises. The oldest player in the team, Dave Curry, displayed some creative and unusual angles of running in the last exercise. The Head Coach, after noting ‘Old Man Currys’ enthusiasm, called a halt to the morning’s training.
The boys had a quiet afternoon, either shopping in Penrith or relaxing at RAAF Glenbrook: as the Quarter Final game approaches it is noticeable how the focus of the players is becoming more and more game focused. Most of the boys trained in the station gym in the evening and then settled to watch films in the mess or their respective accommodation blocks. To improve some players hand to eye coordination, the evening finished with some light Table Tennis training and the reason for Matt ‘the Rock’ Watkins nickname was evident as he struggled to move his feet after taking each shot.
In other news a Flash Hat has been instigated by the players committee to encourage all the boys to remain positive and avoid any negative emotional reactions to banter. The innovative action has paid off for all players with the exception of Tom Gardiner and Tim ‘Cofflan’ Coghlan who are now rarely seen without it. Lastly team Captain Jon ‘Toppers’ Hall has slightly annoyed his accommodation block by eating 17 of the 20 chocolate coconut cakes obtained ‘the Rock’ Watkins. His greed has caused a slight division in the accommodation block and a heavy fine is being considered.
Youtube clips of the RAFRU fixtures can be found here:
RAFRU v Papua New Guinea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeRJtTztxoA&feature=share&noredirect=1
RAFRU v New Zealand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Shkw8UGtg&feature=share
Youtube clips of the RAFRU fixtures can be found here:
RAFRU v Papua New Guinea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeRJtTztxoA&feature=share&noredirect=1
RAFRU v New Zealand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Shkw8UGtg&feature=share
