Waratahs weigh in at Creswell
PTs kick start pre-season training

CPOPT Darren Dyball briefs members of the NSW Waratahs rugby union side during their pre-season training camp at HMAS Creswell. Photos: LSPH Brad Fullerton

NSW Waratahs feel the strain during an ‘injured’ man stretcher carry under the eyes of Navy Physical Trainers.

By LEUT Tom Lewis and Michael Weaver

About midway through the 18 by 200-metre sprints, members of the NSW Waratahs rugby union team realised they were in for a warm welcome from physical trainers at HMAS Creswell, who hosted them for an intensive three-day camp from November 5-7.

Forty of the Waratahs gained their first taste of pre-season training for the next Super 12s competition where the NSW side will face off against the best from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

Physical trainers CPOPT Darren Dyball and POPT Roger Roy liaised with the Waratahs’ head trainers to come up with a plan that was something different from the usual hill sprints and sand runs.

With 12 regular Waratahs players involved with the Australian Wallabies in the World Cup, many of the younger players took the step up and by all accounts really enjoyed the camp.

“The aim was to kick off their pre-season training and build team cohesion and bonding,” said POPT Roy.

He added that the interval training really sorted the men from the boys, with all of them “absolutely shattered” after completing 18 200-metre sprints with little more than 30 seconds rest between each.

Other sessions included a mystery run where they had to run around the base and answer questions along the way, a military relay, rafting, bike riding, carrying an ‘injured’ man on a stretcher and wrestling.
POPT Roy said the Waratahs’ level of fitness, even in pre-season training, compares favourably with the Navy’s PTs.

“However, we weren’t allowed to punish them too much as we had to leave them with something in the tank for their other sessions such as weights,” he said.

A Navy sailor who aspires to the role of a PT must be specially selected from the ranks of those who have already entered the Navy and achieved expertise in an entry branch.

Only then can the trial of Australian Defence Force Physical Training School (ADFPTS) be sought – and only the best are taken.

A PT must specialise in two sports as a minimum, while also being an “all-rounder”, and is expected to lead the ship’s company by example in pursuit of physical excellence.

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