Independent Schools’ Tour of New Zealand: Part 1
By Nick Brewer, St Pius X College
April 20
It was April 20th and we the NSW Independent School Representative team assembled at Sydney International airport. It was an early morning as we gathered at 9:30am. We checked our baggage in and filled out our declaration slips. The team moved through the nervous stage of customs.
Once through with 90mins until our flight we moved throughout the airport searching for a Boost and food to eat. As our flight drew near we rounded ourselves up and prepared to leave at 12:30 for a 3-hour flight to New Zealand.
The plane landed smoothly and we moved into customs and biosecurity. We boarded the bus and headed to a welcome function hosted by the New Zealand Hawks team.
Sharing tables with the boys we were served chicken and ham with potatoes, vegetable and a salad followed by a dessert of fruit salad and brownies.
After the meals we had a jumper presentation for both teams acknowledging the skills and talents of the boys selected with a quick Q and A with the captains (Pierce Roseby). We went back to our accommodation Quest Albany where we stayed the night.
April 21
We woke and went on a morning walk and stretch before returning to enjoy a breakfast consisting of ham, salami, fruit, muesli and juice.
After breakfast we hopped on the bus and headed to QBE Stadium to have a light training session with the New Zealand team.
For about an hour we combined for drills using our skills and minds to mentor each other. The training was filled with great intensity and well executed drills. After training we headed to the beach for recovery.
We’ll provide regular updates from the students on the Independent Schools’ tour of New Zealand on the AFL NSW/ACT website, so make sure you visit the site for the latest articles and match reports.
