David Sisi - Pre Season and an Australian Adventure - 3
I'm delighted to be writing about our second success on our tour - on Wednesday we played an Australia A Schools side and beat them 27-0 in what was, at times, a scrappy hard-fought match.
The build up to the 2nd game was intense to say the least. The boys showed great character in our tour opener, beating a physically imposing (massive!) Australian Academies U19 side in a new climate and with our body clocks still adjusting, and the lessons learned from that game (through both analysis and experience) needed to be put in to action just 3 days later. A challenge we relished! Recovery had to be taken seriously, with games coming thick and fast, and so pool sessions and massages filled our schedules. John fletcher was keen to emphasise that the guys called into the starting line-up had a responsibility to keep up the high standards shown throughout the tour so far, and step up the physicality shown in our first game.
The first half highlighted much of our potential, with strong carries from all our front 5 and the backs executing moves well. We were beginning to dominate and this well demonstrated when we allowed our prop Kyle Sinckler to run in for a try on the wing, after a tremendous team effort of shifting the Aussie defence all over the field. Our own set piece vastly improved from the first game, with our line-out being just as dominant as our scrum - which piled the pressure on the Aussies for the whole 80 minutes. Unfortunately, we did pick up some injuries during the game with Jack Clifford and Luke Cowan-Dickie both receiving knee injuries after strong carries in the second half. Both are very important players for us and I'm sure will be monitored closely over the coming days.
I think overall the team put in a good performance, especially after such a quick turnaround from the previous game. A number of players, as expected, have stood up to the plate and put themselves in contention for a starting place in the final test match against Australia. The team will be announced later today (Friday) and naturally everyone is desperate to be in the starting 15. That said, the squad is in a very good place right now and all thoughts from those not starting will be focused on supporting those that do.
Tonight we are all heading to a top rugby league game between Manly and Melbourne, which should be good fun. This will be followed by a team run and all of us gearing up for the final game against Australia U18's this weekend. We were set the challenge of being a great team on this tour and maintaining the highest of standards - with 2 wins under our belts, a big performance and another win in the Southern Hemisphere on Sunday and I think we will have reached that status.
You can also keep up with our progress by following me on Twitter - @DavidSisi
