Ulster scrumhalf John Cooney provides the second instalment of his tour update, which includes Sunday's game against the Kings...
My last diary entry covered the journey over and the first couple of days in Port Elizabeth, so I’m picking up on day 4!
In the morning we had our Captain’s Run at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium - a class venue, which has a capacity of 46,000 and hosted a few World Cup soccer games in 2012. This session is all about fine-tuning our structures and plays, and we looked pretty sharp. The kickers stayed behind to do some extra practice, which we would normally do. It’s pretty windy in PE, but the closed stadium blocks out a lot of the wind, so that was helpful!
The rest of the day was spent relaxing and preparing for the game. We’re playing ‘Pass the Pigs’ which is a game that Will Addison brought over. It’s similar to rolling dice but it’s just the way the pigs land is quite awkward so it makes it a bit more interesting. Will arrived saying he was real good at it but the other day he lost 3 or 4 in a row.
We have a table tennis table in our team room so we’ve spent some time playing ‘Round the World’ on that. People like Andy Warwick aren’t the most mobile around the table so he’s been struggling - but it’s been good fun.
Sunday was match day! To give you an idea of my pre-match routine…
I like to sleep in as late as I can - I think I was up at about 9am. I did a bit of mental prep; going through the plays and finalising my goals for the game. Then, we did a walk through in the hotel car park to make sure everyone knows the detail. From there, it’s just focusing on the game and travelling to the stadium.
In terms of diet, I mainly carb-load the day before the game so I can eat a little bit less on match days. I normally eat things like eggs and bacon, and a lot of pancakes!
We arrived at the stadium and were greeted with a warm welcome, which has been the case everywhere we’ve went on this trip.
The choir from Nelson Mandela University were performing for the crowd while we warmed up. It is always cool to see things like that and to experience different cultures, and this added to the unique atmosphere. Unfortunately there was no rendition of ‘Stand Up For The Ulster Men’ but they’ll maybe add that in next year!
I thought that the Kings were a lot better this year than they were last season. Their defensive recognition of some of the things we were trying to do was good - they had obviously analysed us a bit more. They put us under a bit of pressure and their set pieces were strong. The boys did well to pull away in the last quarter and get the win.
Unfortunately, I went off with a head injury after about 30 minutes. I’m still trying to find out who the culprit was - there were a few accusations being thrown at Nick Timoney for a while, but I think it was a knee of one of the Kings players that caught me accidentally.
I thought it was just a knock initially; I didn’t realise I was bleeding quite a lot. I ended up going to hospital to make sure there was nothing wrong with my skull, but it was all fine. And the x-ray showed that I actually do have a brain - contrary to the beliefs of some of my team mates!
I managed to get a free haircut out of it too. I got nine stitches to the head and they had to shave my hair to get the job done - very high and tight down the side, which wasn’t ideal.
But it’s only a little scratch so it’s not too bad. You get a bit of an eye-opener when you go into hospital and see people who are properly sick - it makes you realise how lucky you are.
I’m hoping to be available for the Cheetahs game if it settles over the next day or so, but I might have to rock a scrum cap for a bit of extra protection. Hopefully I can pull it off as well as Besty (Rory Best)!
We travelled to Bloemfontein today (Monday) and arrived safely after two flights (via Johannesburg). I managed to avoid sitting beside Stu McCloskey on the flights, which was big relief… that’s the last thing you need when you’ve got a sore head!
We’re now looking forward to getting stuck into prep for the Cheetahs game. There is still plenty of work to do but to be unbeaten after three games is pretty pleasing.
Again, thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone who sent me messages of support after the game!
My last diary entry covered the journey over and the first couple of days in Port Elizabeth, so I’m picking up on day 4!
In the morning we had our Captain’s Run at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium - a class venue, which has a capacity of 46,000 and hosted a few World Cup soccer games in 2012. This session is all about fine-tuning our structures and plays, and we looked pretty sharp. The kickers stayed behind to do some extra practice, which we would normally do. It’s pretty windy in PE, but the closed stadium blocks out a lot of the wind, so that was helpful!
The rest of the day was spent relaxing and preparing for the game. We’re playing ‘Pass the Pigs’ which is a game that Will Addison brought over. It’s similar to rolling dice but it’s just the way the pigs land is quite awkward so it makes it a bit more interesting. Will arrived saying he was real good at it but the other day he lost 3 or 4 in a row.
We have a table tennis table in our team room so we’ve spent some time playing ‘Round the World’ on that. People like Andy Warwick aren’t the most mobile around the table so he’s been struggling - but it’s been good fun.
Sunday was match day! To give you an idea of my pre-match routine…
I like to sleep in as late as I can - I think I was up at about 9am. I did a bit of mental prep; going through the plays and finalising my goals for the game. Then, we did a walk through in the hotel car park to make sure everyone knows the detail. From there, it’s just focusing on the game and travelling to the stadium.
In terms of diet, I mainly carb-load the day before the game so I can eat a little bit less on match days. I normally eat things like eggs and bacon, and a lot of pancakes!
We arrived at the stadium and were greeted with a warm welcome, which has been the case everywhere we’ve went on this trip.
The choir from Nelson Mandela University were performing for the crowd while we warmed up. It is always cool to see things like that and to experience different cultures, and this added to the unique atmosphere. Unfortunately there was no rendition of ‘Stand Up For The Ulster Men’ but they’ll maybe add that in next year!
I thought that the Kings were a lot better this year than they were last season. Their defensive recognition of some of the things we were trying to do was good - they had obviously analysed us a bit more. They put us under a bit of pressure and their set pieces were strong. The boys did well to pull away in the last quarter and get the win.
Unfortunately, I went off with a head injury after about 30 minutes. I’m still trying to find out who the culprit was - there were a few accusations being thrown at Nick Timoney for a while, but I think it was a knee of one of the Kings players that caught me accidentally.
I thought it was just a knock initially; I didn’t realise I was bleeding quite a lot. I ended up going to hospital to make sure there was nothing wrong with my skull, but it was all fine. And the x-ray showed that I actually do have a brain - contrary to the beliefs of some of my team mates!
I managed to get a free haircut out of it too. I got nine stitches to the head and they had to shave my hair to get the job done - very high and tight down the side, which wasn’t ideal.
But it’s only a little scratch so it’s not too bad. You get a bit of an eye-opener when you go into hospital and see people who are properly sick - it makes you realise how lucky you are.
I’m hoping to be available for the Cheetahs game if it settles over the next day or so, but I might have to rock a scrum cap for a bit of extra protection. Hopefully I can pull it off as well as Besty (Rory Best)!
We travelled to Bloemfontein today (Monday) and arrived safely after two flights (via Johannesburg). I managed to avoid sitting beside Stu McCloskey on the flights, which was big relief… that’s the last thing you need when you’ve got a sore head!
We’re now looking forward to getting stuck into prep for the Cheetahs game. There is still plenty of work to do but to be unbeaten after three games is pretty pleasing.
Again, thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone who sent me messages of support after the game!