I went to training this morning.
This was the first time I've been to a training session that wasn't a captains run so it was really cool to see them do a full session. They did a full opposed session, basically playing a game with full contact. However, it was scenario based, the coaches would get them to start at one point of the field and they went from there. They'd do this for an eight-minute period, then have a break and come together for a debrief, they did this about 6 times throughout the session.
I must say, it all looked pretty good to me. The physicality was pretty up there, they really ripped into each other, and it was an intense session. I was impressed with the energy on show and there was that much chat out there, it was hard to tell what anyone was actually saying but I guess that's a good sign.
Izaac will play left wing in place of AJ; he trained there today.
Expect Pete to be in the 17 as he did half the session at hooker so we could see a split dummy half role between he and Cooky.
Keppie will take over Shaq's position.
Otherwise, it looks to be the same side as last week.
Cody looked pretty sharp in this session, he threw some great balls to Wighton and it looks like their combination is starting to gel.
I had the pleasure of meeting Jackie Wighton for the first time and we had a good chat. What a guy, such a great bloke. He recognised my Kiwi accent, asked where I was from, and he actually remembers New Plymouth, my hometown, because he played there against the Warriors in 2016. That was pretty cool.
All in all, it was a pretty good session, great to watch.