This morning I headed down to Leigh Sports Village in the North-West of England to see the national team training ahead of their opening fixture in the Gillette Four Nations rugby league tournament. The players were going through a light workout, with the first game against Wales taking place tomorrow.
It was a gloriously sunny morning and it was interesting to note that some of the players were practising catching the ball from a high kick whilst facing into the sun, something they will be mindful of come tomorrow afternoon. The session lasted for just over an hour before the players headed back to the team hotel where I caught up with England Strength and Conditioning Coach Mark Bitcon. You might recignise Mark's name as his day-to-day work is at Wigan Warriors Rugby League Club.
Mark is a huge fan of the Wattbike and explains in the video what he'll be using the bikes for during the tournament and how they were used during the pre-tournament fitness testing. You'll probably see the Wattbikes present pitchside throughout the tournament.
We received a late request from both the Australian and New Zealand teams for Wattbikes to help with their preparation, so four bikes were quickly dispatched on Thursday and are being put to good use.
On a final note, Stuart Pearce, manager of England U21 football team was at the training session this morning, giving advice on how to handle club v country issues to the coaching staff of the England team.
