The Penn State team is now preparing for their match against University of Wales Institute of Cardiff (UWIC). UWIC is one of the most famous sports universities in Britain and this match was arranged with the help of Alun Hardman, a former coach of the Penn State men.
The day after the Cardiff game the team had a morning stretch and then had the day off. They wandered to the local sites and then settled at a rugby pub to watch Ireland vs France international which was a good game and finished 17-17. Sunday night saw “tour court” where players and staff are brought up on “charges” for things they have done on the trip. This is a very traditional part of a rugby tour.
Monday saw two practices. The first was a mile run to the soccer pitches down the road and a work-out. The second was a run into West Cross to the local park that we used on Friday. It was a hard physical practice, and the team worked very hard.
Tuesday morning the players got a special session with some of the local rugby stars. Gareth Nicholas, through a connection from PSU Rugby friend George Betzler, arranged for 3 players from the Ospreys (the local professional team) and 3 players from the Wales U20 squad to come and work with the players. They focused on continuity at the start and then the players worked with individual positional coaches. The Welsh did a great job and the players learned a lot.
Tomorrow we move to Cardiff and our match vs UWIC kicks off at 7.15pm.
