Hi all,
I'm a newbie to this forum and it has made for some great reading.
With the chance of a wet pitch this afternoon at HH who do you think this would advantage?
A wet/heavy pitch at joeys?????
There has not been such a thing since No.1 was transformed in the late 1980's
There have been wetter weeks than this.
In 2012 the Wallabies were playing the All Blacks at Stadium Australia, During the week the team was camped down at Weigall Oval for their preparation. That week though the heavens opened and every day the team trained in horrendous conditions more akin to water polo than rugby. The Wallaby management were desperate for a ground were they could have a captains run without pools of water or heavy under foot.
St Joseph's had received phone calls during this week from the Wallaby management asked to use their no.1 as it was common knowldge this oval is regarded the best drained in Sydney. Joeys declined but finally relented for the Friday. So on August 17, 2012 a coach pulled up at the gates and the Wallabies unloaded and prepared in the grandstands. A few rogue teachers (like myself) had brought their students out to the park to watch what was going on. As the team prepared, Robbie Deans was seen walking around the oval and inspecting the pitch, pushing his foot down into the ground.
Robbie soon made his way to the sideline and spoke with Brother Anthony who was there to make sure everything was above board. I was close and over heard what was said.
Deans: Well Br Boyd, this oval is great. No mud. Thank you so much for not training on this pitch.
Boyd; I am afraid you are wrong. We have had three teams training every day this week.
Deans: That is incredible. I have never seen anything like this.
As the training drew to a close Deans strode to the white picket fence and called up to the Joeys Headmaster and said in words to the effect.
"Excuse me Ross, is it ok we play the All Blacks here on Saturday? This field is incredible."