Everyone knows the importance of this game and the huge challenge that Italy brings – no-one is resting on their laurels.
This week has seen the arrival of Isobel Rose Popham, weighing in at a massive 9lb 12 ozs (ouch), almost three weeks overdue. (Heartfelt congratulations to Jo and Alix!)
The week has also seen the birth of two new haircuts within the squad, I’ll leave you to spot them! They’re quite noticeable, but unfortunately – or fortunately if you’re one the many hairy fans – its neither Duncan nor Adam (Jones).
You may have read in Shanks’s (Tom Shanklin) column on the BBC website that UK Sport drug testers made one of their regular visits to camp this week. They arrive unannounced, for obvious reasons, and select the players to be tested via a draw. Those players then have to be with a drug tester from the time they leave the training field to the time they provide a urine sample. As they have to do this before recovery, they are unable to shower and have to wear rubber gloves (in this case blue) for risk of contamination.
As with most people, it’s sometimes difficult to provide the necessary sample, especially when you have a stranger actually in the toilet with you!
What Shanks failed to mention in his article was that out of the four players selected, it was only him who had ‘a bit of a problem’! It was a tad unnerving to see him in and out of the toilet every five minutes, wearing blue rubber gloves, followed by a man in a suit! Eventually, after much whistling and turning on of taps (not by me I hasten to add!), he managed to do what should come naturally and the poor drug testers eventually got to go home.
Nugget (Martyn Williams) was also another player to be selected, which led to a few comments being thrown about by players such as: “Do they pick up Philosan?” (For the youngsters amongst you that’s a vitamin supplement for the over 40’s).
It’s not just the eldest of the squad that is in the firing line for banter, the youngest is also susceptible to the odd quip. I had a lovely letter from the mother of a 5 year old who is a fan of James Hook enclosing a drawing he had done of Hooky. He may well be the next Picasso, but we all know what drawings done by 5 year olds are like. Within minutes it had gone up on our notice board and someone had written underneath “by Tom James – aged 20”.
My desk is situated in the middle of the offices and by the kitchen, so is the natural meeting place for everyone. It is also the dumping ground for lost property; so far this week I’ve had two mobile phones (claimed), one pair of dirty boots (unclaimed), one dirty sock (unclaimed), two door wedges (unclaimed) and a personalised number plate spelling ‘B10NKO’ (unclaimed). So, if you see anyone driving around with one number plate missing please let me know!
I believe the game is a sell out today, so here’s to a cracking game with a fantastic atmosphere and hopefully another win – I’ll definitely be wearing my comfy shoes!
