GOOD PRACTICE AND GOURMET FOOD  27th August 2010

Yesterday morning, the squad all did testing in the morning, jumping, and then we did a full practice session session in the afternoon.

It is HOT here and we are all having to hydrate as we lose skinfuls of water every time we step outside, let alone when we are forced to run around.

 The training session in the afternoon was a good one and I thought that members of the squad looked sharper than usual on a first day. Of course, there were the usual stiffness and nerves, but on the whole, I thought the whole team looked pretty good, especially when you take into account that we are a very young group in camp, and missing a number of our veteran players.

I always find eating interesting in Italy. When we go into the dining room for a meal we are usually very hungry from all of our exertions. We have usually just completed a training session and we are anxious to get something light to eat quickly. However, in Italy slow food is the order of the day. Quick food is not a good thing in Italy.

When you walk into the dining room, the buffet is right in front of you, with a huge table with salad and good things waiting for you. Everyone grabs a plate and makes themselves a huge pile of salad. If this were   the whole meal, this would not be a problem. It only becomes a problem when there are still two or three more entrees to be looked at, then eaten.

A delicious soup comes out in a tureen, then a pasta dish, and then a meat dish - all obviously delicious, but not so good for our weighing in sessions. As you will gather, the food here is excellent and I think we could all learn a little something about taking our time and only treating ourselves to small portions. Perhaps I am just talking about myself here.