A day in the life: England 7s

"On Wednesday, members of the media were invited to take part in a ??Sevens Lab?? at Twickenham Stadium, an open day of sorts aimed at giving mere mortals a better understanding of what it takes to be a top Sevens athlete.

?˜I was lucky enough to get an invite on behalf of Scrumqueens.com and as a rugby fan naturally I was thrilled, if a tad apprehensive at the prospect of getting stuck in and learning from the best in the business.

We started off the morning with a briefing with England 7s men??s coach, Ben Ryan and Women??s coach Barry Maddocks, where we were talked through the typically demanding schedule followed by the players throughout the season and what was expected of them by the coaching staff ?? most notably the ability to ??play with/in pain??!

After we were significantly shocked into silence from understanding the lengths these players go to to get themselves into peak shape, we were split into groups and my group were led into the dreaded gym for a ??taster session??, where I was soon to find out that I wasn??t anywhere near as fit as I thought I was!?˜

There was no time to feel sheepish as we were partnered up with a player or in my case TWO of the most well-known players ?? Maggie Alphonsi and John Brake ?˜(no pressure) and introduced to the feared circuit we were going to be attempting.

I made the fatal error first off by admitting that I was a regular gym goer and member of a sports team - famous last words! From that moment on I think Head of Physical Performance Brett Davidson had it in for me and after a gruelling circuit of weight-lift burpees, battle ropes, watt bikes and chin-ups (to name but a few) I can safely say that I need to reassess my gym routine!

We followed the gym session with an overview from some of the staff behind the scenes ?? including the importance of performance analysis and a thought provoking presentation on the new sleep-monitoring scheme, the brain child of Remi Mobed ?? Team Physiotherapist.

This one of kind scheme emphasises the significance of sleep in recovery, rehabilitation and performance and will allow the physios to better analyse players?? sleep patterns and adapt their training schedules accordingly. It was seriously fascinating stuff and it will certainly be interesting to see the results as they unfold.

?˜Now for the most anticipated part of the day, a sessionon the perfectly manicured Twickenham pitch (sorry grounds-men)! Ben Ryan put us through our paces initially with some basic drills before we split into our four groups for some touch rugby. Although it was very lighthearted and jovial it perfectly showcased the talent across the Men and Women??s squads. Their speed, endurance and agility was second to none and despite the banter between the teams I saw enough to gain some serious respect for what these guys do on a daily basis.

All in all, it was a brilliant day and I feel very lucky to have met such a great bunch of talented and hardworking athletes. I have no doubt that they will be working themselves into the ground in preparation for the London Marriott 7s on 11-12 May, but with their ??we run back?? philosophy I hope their opponents know what??s going to hit them!"

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