Sport Kiwis rub shoulders with Liverpool stars
The Kiwis rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in world football yesterday, but before then it was down to business as they fight to save the series against England.
With this weekend’s second test at Anfield, home of Liverpool Football Club, the Kiwis returned to the Premier League giants’ state-of-the-art training facilities where onlookers were treated to an extremely physical session.
While the visitors were guilty of failing to build pressure in attack during last week’s seriesopening 18-16 defeat in Hull, it was a couple of lapses in defence that ultimately cost them.
Prop Jared WaereaHargreaves said the squad responded with a noticeable lift in intensity at training and it was clear where coach Michael Maguire’s focus was.
‘‘Madge [Maguire] is big on defence winning games so it was a pretty physical day out there,’’ Waerea-Hargreaves said. ‘‘We did a review of the game and defensively we thought we could be a lot better, hence why the shoulders are a bit sore.’’
Last week’s result has left the Kiwis with little room for error, but Waerea-Hargreaves was confident they could iron out their deficiencies.
There is plenty to build on from last week’s result. After all, they were only undone by a late piece of brilliance by England centre Oliver Gildart, having dominated for much of the second half.
Veteran forward Adam Blair also took an active part in training after being a late scratching from the first test due to a knee injury.
Waerea-Hargreaves feels the team will benefit from having had a taste of the English conditions and passionate home crowds.
For as much as the younger members of the squad were given an idea of what to expect, there is nothing like experiencing it for yourself.
‘‘We’re well aware of it. Madge tipped us off last week about those little things but after having played here, especially our younger boys, everyone’s got a good feel for what’s coming up,’’ the Roosters enforcer said.
A trip to Liverpool’s training centre at Melwood has become somewhat of a tradition for the Kiwis.
It was their third visit to Melwood in the past four years, and they are believed to be one of the only professional sports teams invited to use the facilities.
After training, the squad had dinner at the canteen where Maguire and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp exchanged playing shirts before the Kiwis thanked their hosts with a haka.
The players also got to mingle with some of the Reds stars, with Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, who reportedly earns £200,000 ($390,000) a week, proving particularly popular.
‘‘Mohamed Salah – apparently his income is quite impressive – he came up at the back end and it was like a magnet, all the boys flocked to him,’’ WaereaHargreaves said.
‘‘He came up to have some lunch and he back-doored it as soon as he saw the boys running for him.
‘‘To mix and mingle with the players and to be able to perform a haka was a pretty awesome experience.
‘‘We’ve been pretty fortunate since coming into camp to use some amazing facilities, but that was up there next to the Denver Broncos [where they played in June].’’