Monday is a difficult day of the week, with the longest amount of time until the weekend the Monday’s blues often catch up on you and challenge even the most positive of souls... I, like so many, have experienced these feelings on more than one occasion however this Monday it was so very different!!! Why!?! Well that is because I spent the afternoon indulging in a spot of sprint training on the pitch at Twickenham with a couple of rather well known Premiership Rugby Players... and if I had my way that is how every single Monday afternoon would be spent and the Monday blues would never, ever appear again!!
Allow me to explain further how I ended up at Twickenham Stadium polishing my standing starts and endeavouring to set a personal best time over 50m, throughout the season on a weekly basis every Premiership team designate one afternoon for their media duties in order to preview the weekend’s fixture. This weekend London Wasps are borrowing Twickenham for their Premiership encounter with Gloucester Rugby, the match is entitled The Stinger and is a slightly larger fixture than normal. Owing to the size and magnitude of the fixture it was only right that it had a slightly larger media afternoon than normal to accompany it... hence sprint training at Twickenham followed by interviews.
Allow me to explain further how I ended up at Twickenham Stadium polishing my standing starts and endeavouring to set a personal best time over 50m, throughout the season on a weekly basis every Premiership team designate one afternoon for their media duties in order to preview the weekend’s fixture. This weekend London Wasps are borrowing Twickenham for their Premiership encounter with Gloucester Rugby, the match is entitled The Stinger and is a slightly larger fixture than normal. Owing to the size and magnitude of the fixture it was only right that it had a slightly larger media afternoon than normal to accompany it... hence sprint training at Twickenham followed by interviews.
Now I must admit that I was slightly apprehensive on route to Twickenham, I am certainly not a couch potato, I frequent an outrageously tough but amazing functional fitness gym called Reach Fitness in Clapham at least four or five times a week, however I was rather concerned about showing myself up over 50m. As usual I was the only lady and let me tell you that being watched by all of the other media participants, the cameramen and of course the designated London Wasps sprint coaches, Joe Simpson and Tom Varndell made me feel very much under the spotlight!
It was a gloriously sunny afternoon and HQ looked as resplendent as ever, the size of the stadium really does hit you when it is empty and being allowed to see the new changing rooms and walk out of the tunnel was a huge, huge honour and something that I never thought that I would be allowed to do! It is difficult to find the right words to describe just how impressive Twickenham is and I can only begin to imagine what that must feel like for a player to run out in front of thousands on a game day, overwhelming is the only word that springs top of mind. During my interview with Joe Simpson he described Twickenham as the ‘best rugby stadium in the world’ and I have to say that I totally agree with him, obviously being English that does make me slightly biased however I believe that a few from outside of England would also agree with that assessment.
It was a gloriously sunny afternoon and HQ looked as resplendent as ever, the size of the stadium really does hit you when it is empty and being allowed to see the new changing rooms and walk out of the tunnel was a huge, huge honour and something that I never thought that I would be allowed to do! It is difficult to find the right words to describe just how impressive Twickenham is and I can only begin to imagine what that must feel like for a player to run out in front of thousands on a game day, overwhelming is the only word that springs top of mind. During my interview with Joe Simpson he described Twickenham as the ‘best rugby stadium in the world’ and I have to say that I totally agree with him, obviously being English that does make me slightly biased however I believe that a few from outside of England would also agree with that assessment.
Focusing on the rugby for a moment the two teams that will run out on Saturday afternoon are London Wasps and Gloucester Rugby, both have a huge amount to play for as there are just 3 rounds left to go in the Aviva Premiership and both have their eyes firmly set on that 7th position European playoff prize. Gloucester and Wasps know each other well, this will be their third meeting this season, and their second in the same number of weeks. After the sprinting was completed (more about the results later) I spoke to Joe Simpson and it was clear that the Wasps players are more than ready for the task;
“Certainly there is a little added impetus with the 7th place playoff... you want to be playing on the big stage in front of big crowds with a lot riding on it... this is why you play rugby. We played them the other week so we had a good look at them then and we know what we need to do. For me personally Twickenham is the best stadium in the world, as an Englishman there isn’t a bigger stadium, it really is a special experience.”
The game is set to be fast paced with both teams filled with creative backs and as Joe rightly pointed out the contact area will be king. Personally I can’t think of a better way to spend Easter Saturday than at the home of England Rugby enjoying a spot of Aviva Premiership action and with the heat wave set to continue it should be a stunning day in all respects. The match will be shown exclusively on BT Sport with Craig Doyle, Lawrence Dallaglio and the rest of the team recording and analysing every moment… as always the team will bring their fresh approach and outstanding expertise to what will be a massively exciting battle.
On a final note you'll be pleased to know that thanks to the expertise and guidance of Mr Varndell and Mr Simpson I did mange to record a respectable 50m time that improved after a spot of coaching!!! The pressure that I felt is incomparable to how the two squads will be feeling whilst they are warming up to the sounds of Little Mix on Saturday afternoon however they will be more than ready for this bruising encounter after all that is why they are professional rugby players and why I simply put pen to paper and record their achievements!
“Certainly there is a little added impetus with the 7th place playoff... you want to be playing on the big stage in front of big crowds with a lot riding on it... this is why you play rugby. We played them the other week so we had a good look at them then and we know what we need to do. For me personally Twickenham is the best stadium in the world, as an Englishman there isn’t a bigger stadium, it really is a special experience.”
The game is set to be fast paced with both teams filled with creative backs and as Joe rightly pointed out the contact area will be king. Personally I can’t think of a better way to spend Easter Saturday than at the home of England Rugby enjoying a spot of Aviva Premiership action and with the heat wave set to continue it should be a stunning day in all respects. The match will be shown exclusively on BT Sport with Craig Doyle, Lawrence Dallaglio and the rest of the team recording and analysing every moment… as always the team will bring their fresh approach and outstanding expertise to what will be a massively exciting battle.
London Wasps take on Gloucester Rugby in The Stinger on Saturday 19th April at 3:15pm, exclusively live on BT Sport. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.co.uk/wasps
