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Search forDUNCAN BELL: No balls dropped in Barnes-free sessions
Wednesday, December 03, 2008, 18:09
Unfortunately, this Sunday is game day and I'm sitting here on the bus stewing in my own juices, trying to work out what went wrong during those 80-plus minutes and why we came off the pitch without a win.
Luckily (or unluckily, depending on your viewpoint), I'm one of those players that tends to remember very little of previous rugby matches and the one that has just gone against Harlequins is rapidly fading from memory.
What I do remember is that it was a very winnable rugby match and we are now pretty down on ourselves knowing we have lost three points. But I know that this squad, more than any other I've been involved with, will bounce back stronger and tighter.
It's even more annoying because this week was a really good training week.
All the better for Barnesy being in his 'two weeks off' time, where he's sent away from the rest of the boys for extra fitness and handling drills.
If Barnesy isn't training there isn't a 'Barnesy zone', if there's no 'Barnesy zone' there are no balls dropped! The same goes for the pre-game ritual where the forwards stand in a circle and throw the ball to me and I hand-bat it back for the boys to catch. It's good fun and gets our hand-eye co-ordination going.
There is a 'Barnesy Award' for the worst catcher. 'Nuff said.
There's a new fad at Bath Rugby among the boys. It used to be Mario Kart on the Xbox but now it's been superseded by the highly energetic sport of…video tennis.
When Berney and Bendy aren't training they can be seen thrashing out a big five-setter. However, there's some sad news that we've just heard about. Lambridge has been broken into.
We are yet to hear all the news but it's safe to say that we are all very, very, very concerned. Not for the training equipment or even the Swiss balls, no, we are concerned about our Xbox!
Our time spent at Lambridge just won't be the same without a quick thumb work out before training.
The backs may have no option but to actually stick some boots on and do some running about and get their knees dirty. And in this weather too.
What is the world coming to?
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