Chapter 49

I woke up the next morning, it was early, so I decided a run might do me good. I got into my running gear and did some warmups outside the hotel before heading off toward the park. I ran around the edge of the park and back toward the hotel.

When I got back to the hotel, I did some warm downs and headed inside. I made a coffee, had a shave and shower. I checked my email and then got dressed in some of the branded clothing that the Bears had given me.

I had a hearty breakfast, the full Canadian, followed by a bowl of porridge or oatmeal, as they preferred to call it. I sent Esse a text asking if she wanted a lift to the ground.

She replied a few seconds later with a thumbs-up. After eating, I headed to my room and grabbed my kit bag and notepad.

I was outside Esses’ house ten minutes later. She came out with a camera bag.

We talked about the job offer all the way to the rugby club, and she was as excited as I was. She did stop to tell me she had to go into the city with some of the other marketing guys to meet up with potential advertisers, so she wouldn’t be around that afternoon.

When we arrived at the club, we went into the canteen and ordered coffee and pastries. Everyone we met stopped to shake my hand and to congratulate me.

Jim and Noah arrived, and we discussed that day’s training. We had the backs in for the day.

The S&C guys had the guys on the training pitch and were warming them up.

Jim and Noah asked what I was going to cover that day. I had planned to talk about attacking patterns.

We went out to the training pitch, and the S&C guys started to do some warmups. The whiteboard was already beside the pitch, and I drew out the first move I wanted to work on. Once the warm downs were finished, the lads jogged over to where a stack of water bottles had been set out for them.

“Good morning, guys!” I said as they swigged in the cool water, I noticed that the two academy guys, Tom and Max, were there, which was good to see.

I got a marker pen and started to talk to the guys about attacking patterns and how to make the most of the space they provided. The lads were soaking up the info. Once I was happy, they knew the basics, we split the lads into three teams and had them walk the moves, then run them at half speed, and finally at game speed.

We practised three different attacking moves over and over again. I glance at my watch and blew my whistle to end the session. I got the lads to do some warm downs and then take on fluids. We walked up to the clubhouse, and the lads went into the players’ dressing room, and I headed into the coaches’ dressing room.

I got showered and changed into some clean kit, then headed into the canteen. The players were all lining up to get some grub. I joined the back of the queue. They tried to get me to go to the front, but that was not my style.

I saw the other members of the coaching staff all sat at a table eating and chatting.

When I got the serving station, I opted for pasta Bolognese with salad and garlic bread. I got a pint of water and a banana smoothie from the drinks station.

I joined Jim and Noah. Minutes later, we were joined by Kelly and one of the other physiotherapists, who was called Sara. They were both cute, and I would not have minded a session with either of them ... or both of them!

The chat was all about the game the previous weekend, there had been a huge increase on all of the club’s social media channels, and the tickets for the next game had been selling well. That was great news.

When I had finished eating, Jim asked if he and Noah could have a chat. We all got coffees and head into the coach’s office.

They just wanted to know what the plan was for the game that week. A lot of the team almost picked themselves, but I wanted Tom and Max in the squad. The big question was whether Colsey would be fit to play; the other lad who had come off was Danny Calf, and he had failed his head injury assessment, so he would not be allowed to play.

We talked about the pros and cons of all the players, as well as who should start and who would be on the bench. We came back round to Colsey.

Jim went and asked Kelly to come into the meeting, and she told us Colsey was masking the injury. At the end of the day, we all played rugby or had played, and we all knew the score.

Jim and I decided that we would assess the lad the following day. I left the office and went to the canteen for another coffee and a slice of pecan pie. I was becoming a bit of an addict.

Kelly followed me, and we sat and chatted about the city. I was not sure where I should be living. She was a local, and she told me that if she wanted to go for a drive, she could show me some nice places. We got our kit bags and headed over to my car.