Chapter 44

I left Chariya’s house the following morning and walked back to my hotel. We had fucked until the early hours and then had one more frantic fuck before she kicked me out as she had to get ready for work. I had promised to go back and see her before I went home and it was a promise I would keep as she was a sex machine.

My cock felt sore and my balls felt drained. I got a takeaway latte from a coffee shop on the corner of her street. Then I took a slow walk in the early morning sun.

Chariya had been an adventurous lover and we had really gelled. But I was eager to get back to the hotel as I was ravenous. I also needed a shower and some sleep.

When I got to the hotel I went into the restaurant and ordered some porridge and the full Canadian breakfast with extra toast and a pot of coffee.

I tucked in as soon as the server brought it to my table and I ate every morsel.

After eating I ordered another pot of coffee and had some of the pastries from the buffet table.

As I was walking back to my seat, I saw the DOR of the Calgary Bears walking in with the coach I had met. I had to dig deep to remember their names. I waved at them and as I did so the names came back to me.

The DOR was Jim and the coach was Noah. We shook hands at the table.

“Hi guys, how are things?” I asked. My head was spinning, what were they doing at my hotel at this time in the morning?

“Yeah, all good mate,” Jim said and pointed at the spare seats, “May we join you?”

“of course!” I said and as we all sat down the server came over with my coffee. I asked him for another pot and some more cups.

“So, the reason we are here is to ask you a favour!” Jim said and looked at Noah.

“Go on,” I said, intrigued.

“We are in trouble; we are sat at the bottom of the table and if we get relegated, we will lose all our sponsorship. It could be the end of the club!” Jim said and Noah nodded his agreement.

“Yes, we have two more games and really need at least one win to stay in the league,” Noah said.

“So how can I help?!” I asked and had a slurp of coffee.

“We would love to get you to do some coaching with the lads!” Noah said.

“The lads were down but after the session with you the other day they were bouncing!” Jim said and shook his head, “If we go down, we will lose players, lose fans and lose our sponsors, and there is no coming back from that!”

“Okay, but I fly back next week!” I said. At the same time, I knew I could spend some more time with them. I had planned on doing some more sightseeing and another visit to see Chariya. In my head and heart, I was a rugby nut and seeing a club in trouble tugged at my heartstrings.

“So, your next game is on Saturday?” I asked.

“Yes, the Edmonton Hawks are coming to our ground,” Jim said, “and in twelve games we have only beaten them once and they normally beat us by twenty-odd points!” Jim said with a shake of his head.

“So, we have two days of training, I take it they take Friday afternoon off before the game?” I asked.

“Yes,” Jim said, “But if you want them in, we can arrange that I am sure,”

“No there is no need,” I said and glanced at my watch, “I take it they are training today?”

“Yes, mate, this morning with our S&C coach, then I would take over this afternoon,” Noah told me.

“Right, I will come over this afternoon,” I said, “I can’t work miracles but I will do my best.”

I just hoped the strength and conditioning coaches didn’t wear them out.

The two guys looked at each other, there was something they were not saying. They got up and we shook hands.

“See you later guys!” I said and glanced at my watch I had time for three hours of sleep.

I headed up to my room, took a shower and set an alarm before crashing out.

The alarm woke me and I made coffee as I got dressed into my rugby gear. Then I checked my airline ticket.

I was not due back at the school for another week, so I decided there and then to extend my trip. Two emails and one call later and my flight was rebooked.

I then rang the hotel reception and checked with them that I could extend my stay and they were more than happy to accommodate me.

I grabbed my sports bag and headed down to the restaurant, I got a takeaway coffee and sandwich to eat on the way. The drive over to the Bears ground was pleasant as it was a nice sunny afternoon. On the way I thought about what I could do with the guys to improve their game.

I parked up and I saw Noah and Jim walking over the car park toward me.

We all shook hands.

“The lads will be out in ten minutes, they are buzzing!” Jim said.

“What will we be working on this afternoon?” Noah asked.

“I think we should work on attacking moves,” I said.

“Okay, that sounds good to me!” he replied.

We heard the lads coming out of the dressing room. They were all kitted up and ready to go.

“Right lads, you all know Zak, he has agreed to do some work with us today to get us ready for Saturday,” Jim said, “Zak has played in the premiership so he knows what he is doing so listen and learn and don’t be afraid to ask questions!”

There were only thirty guys in the squad so I had them roll the scrum machine onto the middle of the training pitch and I got Noah to bring out a whiteboard and some marker pens.

I got my boots out of my kit bag and put them on. then I asked the squad to sit down and I moved over to the board.

I had some attacking moves off the scrum that I wanted to run them through.

I drew and explained at the same time, that it was all about running into space and running at defenders. Using men to draw in defenders to make more space for the ball carriers. One of the things that I noticed during their game was that the starting fullback was a defender at all times and never joined the offensive line.

So, I drew the patterns of play on the board and explained what I wanted to achieve. Then the players got into positions as if they were putting the ball into the attacking scrum.

I walked the players through the move four or five times. I got the number eight to pick the ball up and pass to the inside centre but to them wrap run at an angle that would draw the defenders.

The inside centre then passes to the outside centre, and he then passes back to the inside centre, I then got the full-back to run a line outside between the centre and the winger.

Once we had walked it, we then did it at a jogging pace a few times and then at match speed. All the lads got into the move; the only sticking point was the full-back. He just didn’t seem to get to the line at the right time.

I swapped him out and got him to watch the reserve full-back before swapping them around again. We worked on attacking lines for at least two hours.

Then we had a break before I changed and got the guys to do some tackle drills and also worked on their jackling technique for the last hour.

When I told them we were going to do some jackling the backs seemed to fade away but I soon got them doing the same drills as the forwards.

Noah walked over and smiled at me.

“It is going well mate, but we have never had the backs doing any jackling,” he said.

“Well, it’s time they got into it, if the forwards are still bound onto the scrum one of the backs can slow things down at the next breakdown!” I explained.

“That makes sense,” he said.

“Also did you have the last game recorded?” I asked.

“Yes, did you want me to get a copy on DVD?” he asked.

Then he jogged over to Jim and I saw Jim walking over to the clubhouse.

I kept the lads working on their tackling and jackling for another half an hour then we called them in and I gave them some words of encouragement before sending them into the showers.

I went into the coach’s changing room. I took a shower and then I got dried off and dressed in some jeans and a T-shirt.

I met Jim and Noah in the bar. Jim handed me the DVD I had asked for.

“What will you have to drink mate?” Noah asked. I noticed they both had beers.

“Can I have a pint of water and beer please,” I asked. Okay, I had only been coaching but I still wanted to rehydrate.

“So, what do you think?” Jim asked as Noah placed the drinks in front of me.

“I think they have a lot to do, I am happy to stay another week and help out,”

“Wow, that’s great news!” Jim said, “Of course we will pay your expenses and stuff!”

Noah shook my hand.

“It’s good to have you on board mate!” he said.

“So, we have a full day tomorrow?” I asked before downing half the water.

“Yes, two half-day sessions and then the captains run session on Friday afternoon,” Jim said and then sipped his beer.

“And when does the academy team train?” I asked.

“Friday Morning and then on Sunday morning,” Jim said,” Why do you ask?”

“I think I might come over and work with them as well,” I told him.

“Bloody hell mate they would love that!” Noah said.

We talked more about what was needed and they asked if I had seen any gaps in the squad or any problems. I did say I thought the fullback was a bit weak in offence. They both said he was an inside centre filling in for the first team’s normal full-back who had suffered a broken leg and would be out for the rest of the season.

We talked more about the club and the squad. It was obvious they were in trouble and needed to get some more wins to keep them away from the relegation zone.

I finished my beer and bid then good night before driving back to the hotel.

I thought about visiting Chariya but I knew she could and would become an expensive habit. I dropped my bag into my room and got my laptop so I could watch the game DVD as I ate.

I went into the bar and ordered a beer and had a look at the menu. I ordered a burger with fries and onion rings. Then I watched the game and made notes.

After eating my food and two more beers and I watched the whole of the game and made some notes. It would help me with the training and also it meant a conversation with Jim and Noah that they might find uncomfortable.

The lad who was filling in at fullback was never in the right position and he was very defensive and not offensive. I counted three times during the match where he could have hit the attacking line and hadn’t. He had also fumbled the ball twice under high kicks.

I didn’t blame the lad; the full-back position is a hard one to play if you are not used to it.

I paid my bill and headed up to my room. The DVD held two files the second one was the Academy team game. I sat on the bed and watched it. After the game, I knew two things. One is that the Academy team had a great full-back, he was fast, he was good under a high ball, he had a great kick and he was great in defence and offence. The other thing was that the lad playing at scrum half for the academy was rapid. A scrum half that is quick around the base of the breakdown is worth his weight in gold.

I checked my notes and rewrote some of them. Then I decided to switch off from rugby and get some sleep.

The following morning, I woke up early and went for breakfast. I took my notepad and designed three named plays that I wanted to teach the lads. All teams have training ground plays, these are predesigned moves that have keywords for the lads to call out. I sketched them out.

I ate breakfast and at the same time thought about the plays and adjusted them.

Then I went back to my room had a shower and went for a walk to clear my head. I knew that if I went in and got all heavy about swapping the full-back out the other coaches and the DOR might see me as a threat but I was sure that the academy lad was much better, he was an out-and-out full-back after all. The lad filling in in the first team was an inside centre and they are very different roles.

I picked up a coffee from a takeaway place and walked back to the hotel via the park. Once I was there, I got my kit bag and my laptop and drove over to the rugby ground.

I got there as the lads from the first-team squad were coming out with the S&C guys for some warm-ups. I had driven over in my training kit so I joined in with them. The strength and conditioning coaches got us doing all sorts of warm-ups and I felt nice and fit as I worked out with the younger lads.