Tuesday’s Rugby News has two props – Ala’alatoa and Cowan – talking Wallabies, a little more stuff on referees and Twiggy Forrest watering trees.
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All About Allan
Having just arrived in Wallabies camp from the Brumbies camp, Allan Ala’alatoa has been thrown into the fitness frying pan. And from the frying pan, he’s been thrown into the media fire. Talk Allan, talk!
“I only came in the last two sessions and I felt I was there the whole week. For me physically it was and it was a good test for me mentally,” The A-man told rugby.com.au.
“When you come down to those moments and you think the training session’s over but you’ve got another fitness drill, it’s just all about pushing yourself mentally and trying to be comfortable in an uncomfortable environment.”
Go on, talk about dreaming of beating the All Blacks.
“It’s very important for us, especially going up against the All Blacks where you need to be perfect almost to win against them,” he said.
“That mental aspect of the game is really important and I think these training sessions are helping us build towards that, when you’re under fatigue and you try to pick yourself up to go another round and just to push yourself mentally is probably just as important as pushing yourself physically.”
Alright now something about how you’ve grown as a player.
“Last year and the years before I’ve been coming off the bench so to be able to get that consistent starting spot, it’s been a huge experience for myself,” he said.
“That’s what I truly believe once you get all that game time that’s the only way you’re going to learn and adapt on the run so it’s been good.
“I think when you look around there’s a lot of young players there and we are looking to build towards that campaign.
“Obviously first and foremost to make that you have to build in little steps and this Bledisloe’s one of those steps that you need to achieve.”
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Pek Picked Up
This story’s from a few days ago but it’s a good one.
Western Force prop Pek Cowan has been picked in the Wallabies camp, the first time he’s been involved with the national set up since for three years. He talked to the SMH about what he did to turn it around.
“I felt like for a few years I was treading water and I was happy being where I was at,” Cowan told the SMH.
“Within that six-week block I did my own stuff by myself for the last part of the Super Rugby season. That’s obviously paid dividends because [Cheika] has realised it. My performances reflected the work I have done.
“My mindset has also changed. Instead of being a good loser – especially with the Force not having great seasons and not great consistency – it’s just trying to win everything and being ruthless and not making friends on the field.
“Especially the Rebels and Tahs boys. They would say I was a bit of a prick on the field and that’s because I wanted to win. Mentally, I’ve just flicked the switch.”
The 10-times-capped Cowan has never been picked by Cheika before, despite being a bench player five times in 2014. He was picked first by Robbie Deans in 2009, but his new call-up feels better for him.
“It would probably mean more because of the change of attitude I had,” Cowan said. “You always want just one more Test. Whenever you look forward and try and count how many Tests there are left in the year … you get too far down the track.
“Every time I’ve come back in it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. [There have been ] a lot changes within that time. I’ve seen the last three coaches. I had Robbie [Deans], then Link [Ewen McKenzie] and now I have been lucky enough to be selected by Cheik. It’s a bit of a yo-yo.”
And now Pek’s set on impressing Cheik.
“Cheika just mentioned the last six weeks that I’ve come along well,” Cowan said. “I have to make sure I’m pushing myself the whole time.
“If I feel comfortable within a session, deep down I’m not working hard enough, or I’m not challenging myself. It’s up to the individual to push themselves.
“If my performances keep going the way they are, I think it comes down to who is best on the day.”
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Home Refs No Good
As mentioned yesterday, the Hurricanes’ coach was a bit upset with the choice of ref – Jaco Peyper – after his team lost to the Lions.
Paul Cully, the bloke who somehow manages to consistently have a well-thought out opinion and smash it out in 100 words or less every Sunday morn, reckons that the whole non-neutral ref thing is an absolute drag.
Not because home refs aren’t unbiased, but because if they stuff anything up, people will talk about bias.
“Australian sides have copped a few beauties from referee Jaco Peyper in South Africa – don’t mention the words “Stormers”, “Peyper” and “Cape Town” to a Brumbies fan unless you have a spare hour to listen to a rant – so when Sanzaar appointed Peyper to whistle the Lions v Hurricanes semi-final you feared what might happen,” Cully writes in the SMH.
“And true enough, Peyper handed out a second-half yellow card to Beauden Barrett for apparently not rolling away after a tackle.
“To my eyes it was a very harsh call. But that’s not really the problem. The deeper issue is that Peyper’s nationality meant that controversy was almost bound to rear its ugly head.
“There is a simple way to avoid this: the Super Rugby semi-final must be refereed by “neutral” referees. Instead, we have a situation where we are talking about Peyper and perhaps not giving enough credit to the Lions, who finished like a tank platoon over the top of the weary Canes.”
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Twiggy Waters Tree
In an interesting turn of events, a billionaire is investing into a sport but avoiding buying the thing he’s hoping to save. It makes sense, but it’s still odd.
Twiggy Forrest, he of yesterday’s rugby news, has promised he’d poured some of his $4.8 billion into the Own the Force campaign if the Western Force win their just-begun court case.
Forrest, Fox Sports (via AAP) says, has offered interest-free loans to people wanting to buy shares in Force. The kicker is that the loans will be payable to RugbyWA, not the Forrest himself. Which is nice of him.
Despite the shares being sold for $1000 each, the article says that Forrest’s loan scheme “effectively means the Force will now receive $2000 for each share sold — potentially pumping millions of extra dollars into the franchise.”
“Forrest’s commitment isn’t expected to end there,” the article continues, “but for now he is keeping his cards close to his chest regarding any potential future funding of the franchise.”
The article also adds that 4700 people so far have bought or have pledged to buy one (with some buying more) shares
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