Part 2, Week 1

So this has been my first week back to full training after pretty much a month without rugby. Except, it hasn’t really been full training at all. It became apparent early in the week that a gradual comeback was necessary and going straight into full training wouldn’t be prudent – a very helpful word which is the same in French, I use it alot.

Tuesday brought back a recurrence of the old ankle injury so I didn’t take part in the final full academy session of the day. ‘Terrible Tuesday’, with its 3 sessions was never the best day to return with. Wednesday brought the first trip up to Colombes for Crabos training which went well though I felt very stiff on Thursday when we trained at Colombes again. Normally, we only train Wednesday and Friday nights but this Thursday was an exception, a sore exception. We played a match against the Reichel (u-21s) which was a bit of an eye-opener. They play a very fast style of rugby which I was pleased to realise I would enjoy playing in. We acquitted ourselves fairly well though my second contact session in 2 days after the lay-off led to me completing few tackles.

I have already spoken of the excellent support I received during my injury from the physios and physical conditioning guys and that has continued this week. When the ankle flared up on Tuesday, Nico the gym man gave me a pre-prepared sheet with an ankle injury prevention session on it. I haven’t done any other weights sessions apart from this session since. Injury prevention and preparing the body isn’t something that is done enough at home. Get massive, worry about the consequences later... And it may seem like I’m always injured. This worries me slightly, though it isn’t true. Perhaps it’s bad luck, perhaps it’s a consequence of my first year training as a pro as my body initially struggled to adapt.

Anyway, Friday night training was good fun, every rugby player loves a team run and the boys seemed very focussed in anticipation of the biggest challenge we’ve faced so far. Bourgoin are top of the league (joint with us) and apparently are one of the traditional powerhouses of French youth rugby as well as being one of the top pro clubs in France. Winning there would really announce us as a major force. We’ll have to deal with a two and a half hour train journey to Lyon and then who knows what else by the way of trains and buses. On y va!