Tuesday 3rd April 2007
The England Sevens team arrived in Adelaide today ahead of the IRB Australia Sevens and got straight down to training with some of the city’s most famous sportsmen. In a state where Aussie Rules reigns supreme, the England players were invited to train at the HQ of the Adelaide Crows – Adelaide’s top AFL team. The players used the Crows’ facilities, met some of the players and compared the worlds of rugby union and Aussie Rules.
Based at AAMI Stadium in Adelaide, the Crows are one of the AFL’s most successful and popular teams. Forward Trent Hentschel, who is currently out with a knee injury, met with England captain Simon Amor - each presenting the other with a team jersey, or ‘guernsey’ as the Australians call a playing shirt. Amor said, “We only arrived from Hong Kong at lunchtime but it was a great opportunity to come and use the facilities. The Crows have a fantastic set up here and it was good to catch up with some of the players. I enjoy watching Aussie Rules on TV back in England, and it was interesting to learn more about the sport and what training they do. They have a big game in Melbourne this coming weekend and we wish them luck, and thank them for inviting us to their ground.”
One member of the England management team who certainly felt at home today was England Sevens Physio and Fitness Adviser Mike Snelling who comes from Adelaide. Earlier in his career he used to do some work with the Crows and was confident that the England players would benefit from experiencing the AFL set up. He said, “I grew up right by the stadium and knew the facilities were fantastic. Aussie Rules is everything in this town, and the Crows get 50,000 to all of their home games. The AFL players have quite a different training regime to the rugby players as they do a lot more aerobic and speed based work, whilst the sevens players will generally focus on strength and power. The emphasis on running based training rather than weights means the Aussie Rules players are slightly leaner than the rugby players.
