Wednesday 4th April 2007
The England Sevens squad were made to go back to school today as they prepared for this weekend’s IRB Sevens in Australia. Several of the young players may have only been out of school for a couple of years, but there was no getting out of it as the whole squad were kept busy at St Peter’s School in Adelaide.
St Peter’s is one of the most prestigious schools in South Australia and is comparable to the likes of Eton and Millfield in the UK. Set in stunning grounds just five minutes drive from central Adelaide, the school boasts nine sports fields (or ‘ovals’ as they are called), an impressive gym and swimming pool. Perfect facilities therefore for England to use in preparation for this weekend’s tournament.
Michael Hills of Sale Sharks, who is 21, was impressed by the school set up. “The school is amazing and a fantastic place to train. We were able to practice on one of their rugby pitches and recover in the swimming pool and everyone looked after us really well. This afternoon the older boys were allowed to miss a couple of lessons to watch us train, and then we played a bit of tough rugby with their first XV rugby team. They seemed to really appreciate it and it was good fun.”
England face a tough pool this weekend with Fiji, Tonga and Canada to overcome before the quarter final stage. Hills adds, “We will go into all three matches with the same attitude – that we can and will win. However hard the opposition if you start doubting yourself then that’s when you end up in trouble. We are professional sportsmen at the end of the day, and the only way to improve is to play and test yourself against the best and we will have that opportunity this weekend against all three sides.”
Another of England’s youngsters is John Brake (Northampton Saints), 18, who flew into Australia yesterday to join the squad. He said, “I am so excited about being back with the England Sevens squad. The experience of playing out in San Diego was amazing and I learnt so much.
“Morale in the squad is high despite the loss in Hong Kong and there is real belief in the team that we can do well this weekend. We have had two big training sessions already and have spent time going over the videos and seeing what went wrong.”
Brake only left Millfield School in Somerset last summer and felt ‘at home’ at St Peter’s. He said, “It is pretty similar to Millfield here and I can see why comparisons are made with English public schools. The school is one of the oldest in Australia and is set in big, beautifully kept grounds. The sports facilities are fantastic and it is great that we have been able to train here this week. It felt a bit strange being back at school and the rugby master was watching us but we had a really good couple of sessions so that’s all that matters for now!”
England’s matches on Saturday 7th April are:
Against Tonga at 12.15 (local / 3.45am BST)
Against Canada at 15.21 (local / 6.51am BST)
Against Fiji at 19.26 (local / 10.56am BST)
www.rfu.com/sevens
Ends.
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