On Tour With The 2011 Kiwis

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29

A routine day following a match as the players started with a pool recovery session at the Wavertree Aquatics Centre followed by massage, medical reviews and hydration testing. Players had to make their own arrangements for lunch and then had time off in the afternoon before gathering for another inter-squad team event. This time it was the black team’s turn to arrange dinner out for the touring party, with points at stake for meeting budget, the quality of food and service and the atmosphere. The black team chose Liverpool One Bridewell, a distinctive bar and restaurant set in an old police station where patrons can have dinner seated in what used to be cells.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30

This was another travel day. As many as 70 pieces of baggage left by lorry for London early in the morning, two of the management team following by car to offload the luggage and make other arrangements before the bulk of the party turned up later in the afternoon. The new base was the Hilton Hotel in Kensington, a central location with a London underground station and a massive Westfield shopping centre just a few minute’s walk from the hotel. Before boarding the bus, the players were given a bit of a touch-up by Ruben Wiki in a park next to the Hilton. Put it this way, one of the players was doing more than dry retching during the session. The bus trip south was a slow one for the rest of the management team and the players, finally reaching their destination about 6.30pm. After quickly checking into their rooms everyone was on the bus again in a matter of minutes to travel to dinner at the quaint Britannia not far from the hotel. It came recommended by Kiwi coach Stephen Kearney who had been there previously with the Melbourne Storm. No one could disagree with his assessment. It was sensational. Once back at the hotel, the staff met to confirm arrangements for the coming week, some players had physio treatment and the others settled for an early night.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 31

From the outset, the first two days in London – October 31 and November 1 – had been marked down as a time for the players to have a mid-campaign break, having been together since assembling in Sydney on October 9. The first full day was totally free for the players to relax or explore London. Many opted for a good look around the Westfield shopping centre, which many of the players had visited on the trip to London during the 2009 Gillette Four Nations. Some players still needed treatment and others wanted to do some extra training in the hotel gym. Everyone was left to their own devices for lunch and dinner although the staff had an extra special dining experience at the original Hard Rock Café on Old Park Lane. Opened in 1971, it started the ball rolling for the Hard Rock Cafe phenomenon. After the dinner the group was taken on a private tour to see the memorabilia stored in the vault at the adjacent Hard Rock Café merchandise outlet.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1

Tuesday started with Ruben Wiki’s now familiar early morning extras training session and he had plenty of takers willing for a bit of Wiki love. While the staff met over breakfast, the players were again able to relax before meeting after lunch to set the scene for the international against Wales – and also to be briefed about the next team activity. With their coloured bandannas visible, the teams were tasked with a Monopoly-styled amazing race around London. In essence the teams had to visit as many locations as possible on the English version of a Monopoly board, find a passerby to take photos of them standing in front of identifying street signs, do some busking (and have it videoed), find lookalikes, sing the team songs they’d composed the previous week … and a whole lot more. Essentially it was an anything-goes opportunity with daredevil and creative thinking required. There was a time limit, all the teams required to be back in the hotel by 5.00pm then put together presentations of their photos and videos to show to the whole team for judging after dinner. The word was out that the orange team had excelled to the point of over-delivering. Clearly on the strength of the presentations their effort was superior, enhanced by Alex Glenn’s outstanding editing job. When it came to judging, though, the orange team was left out on a limb through strategic voting on the part of the other teams. Maybe it was envy but, whatever it was, orange didn’t rate well as pink was voted the best. Those in the orange team were left wondering what had happened. Accusations of cheating and skulduggery were heard and there was some evidence of red mist descending as well. Clearly, though the event was a huge success judging by the effort the teams put in and, above all, the fun they’d had. It marked the end of the break. From Wednesday football would be in focus again.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2

This was an exhausting day, starting with weights, a video session reviewing the loss to Australia and a trip to Wasps Rugby Club for the first field session in London. On arriving to set up for the field session, Wasps were training. Their two New Zealanders Riki Flutey and Ross Filipo had special interest in the Kiwis turning up. The session also coincided with a major event at the club, a media conference being held inside to reveal rugby league great Shaun Edwards was stepping aside at Wasps coach. Before the session started, the Kiwi team had been named for the match against Wales, highlighted by Elijah Taylor being selected for his first Test. A tough session including some wrestling and contact work was almost overshadowed by the presence of a young boy by the name of Ted Wiskar. His father, who works for The People, had made arrangements to set up a story involving his son and Kiwi prop Fuifui Moimoi. Why? Well, because Nigel and Rebecca were taken by Moimoi when he toured with the Kiwis in 2007 and gave their son the second name of … Fuifui. Afterwards big Fuifui met little Fuifui. It made for some fabulous moments, some of the attendant media latching onto it. Nigel captured it all in The People http://blogs.people.co.uk/nigel-wiskar-rugby-league/2011/11/when-fuifui-met-fuifui.html
After Ben Matulino, Gerard Beale, Elijah Taylor, Alex Glenn and Moimoi had done some interviews the players returned to the hotel for lunch and massage before putting on their No 1s for the Rugby League International Federation’s annual awards dinners (also attended by the other three teams). The event had the grandest of settings at the historic Tower of London. All teams were given a tour through the venue including the highlight – viewing the Crown Jewels. It was a quite stunning experience. The dinner left the Kiwis a little hollow, though. While they had several contenders for positional awards in the team of the year, Benji Marshall was the only one rewarded. The event finished much later than anticipated making for a late finish to a long day for all concerned.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3

After breakfast, all players but Adam Blair and Thomas Leuluai had a weights session. For Blair and Leuluai plus coach Stephen Kearney it was off to the Hard Rock Café for a media conference and photo call to promote Saturday’s Gillette Four Nations doubleheader. After catering for a string of interview requests, the Kiwi trio returned to the Hilton for an afternoon off. By 7.00 all but a few players were on the bus headed for Craven Cottage to watch Fulham play Polish club Wisla Krakow in a Europa League match. The Kiwis were guests of Fulham’s major sponsor FxPro. As the Kiwis walked around the ground, people stopped for photos with Fulham’s Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer even breaking away from his warm-up routine and running to the sideline when he spotted Benji Marshall (Schwarzer is a huge Wests Tigers fan). The pair chatted for a while before Schwarzer went back to work. The hospitality laid on for the Kiwis was beyond compare. A sumptuous meal was laid on before a match which had just about everything. Fulham thrilled with their attack, winning 4-1 while the raucous Polish fans were in a league of their own, letting off fireworks, smoke pouring out of one of the stands at one stage in the first half. Fulham gained a few fans among the Kiwi contingent on the night. Craven Cottage is one of English football’s most intimate old-style stadiums with fans so close to the action.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4

Extras for the non-Test players and breakfast gave way to strapping and then video sessions for the left and right edges followed by the whole team. This was time to have a good look at the largely unknown Welsh players. On the bus at 10.15, the Kiwis left early for their final run, this time at the hallowed Wembley Stadium. All four teams had been granted 30-minute runs on the stadium – and 30 minutes it would be. The Kiwis weren’t allowed onto the ground a second before the appointed time of 11.45 and they were told they couldn’t run a second past 12.15. There wasn’t time to achieve too much but at least the players had a chance to get a feel for this highly impressive stadium. Once the session was over Stephen Kearney and Benji Marshall both did all-in pitch-side interviews with the media. Then it was ice baths time, back on the bus and lunch at the hotel with hydration tests to follow. After relaxing in the afternoon, No 1s was the call for the Test dinner at 6.00 and a memorable one it proved to be with rugby league legend Ellery Hanley the special guest. He’d been invited by his one-time Leeds team-mate, Kiwi team manager Tony Kemp, and was excited to be among the Kiwis. He spoke passionately and added a nice touch when he handed out the jersey to the players by quietly giving each of them a personal message. He stayed on to sign autographs for the players and staff and to have photos taken with them.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5

With such an early kick-off (1.00pm) against Wales, the day had an urgent feel to it. After breakfast, strapping started at 9.30, there was a team meeting for some key messages from Stephen Kearney and then on the bus bound for Wembley at 10.30. The match ended 36-0 in the Kiwis’ favour, Gerard Beale scoring his first Test try and getting a second. The game was more significant for some injury concerns, especially about prop Sam McKendry who was taken to hospital straight after the match by team doctor Simon Mayhew. McKendry had suffered multiple fractures of his jaw after being tackled early in the second half. Fuifui Moimoi had also been forced off with an ankle injury only a few minutes after going onto the field. There were media conference commitments for Kearney and Marshall while travelling New Zealand journalists came into the dressing room to interview a number of players. Other players were interviewed in the mixed zone by British and Australian journalists while others went out to watch the early stages of the England-Australia match. The Kiwis’ return to their hotel was delayed as they waited for Jeremy Smith to provide a sample for the drug testers. Eventually they were on their way while some of the management team, including Kearney and his assistant Tony Iro, stayed on to watch England play the Kangaroos. They eventually joined the rest of the team at the hotel about 6.30. Simon Mayhew returned to the hotel to say McKendry was about to go into the operating theatre at the Princess Grace Hospital. Australian fullback Billy Slater had also arrived at the same hospital after breaking his collarbone early in the match against England. Mayhew said Slater had made a point of catching up with McKendry. Ruben Wiki had the kava bowl out in the team room. It was a chance for the players to have a night off.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6

Breakfast was followed by a pool recovery session just after 9.00 at a gym nearby and then medical reviews and massage. The rest of the day was free, most of the players choosing to relax around the hotel. The team colours were out in the shape of bandannas later in the afternoon when everyone was on the bus for another team activity. It was the pink team’s turn to put on dinner. They selected a traditional English pub the Churchill Arms, traditional to a degree. It’s speciality wasn’t old-style English food but Thai cuisine. As Stephen Kearney was in the pink team and had been involved in organising the restaurant, he was being marked hard by many of the players. Abuse was flowing. Attitudes would show through once the points rolled in after the teams judged the pink team’s efforts.

ENDS

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