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Ewen McKenzie and his men delighted the fans on the first stop of their Bush2Bledisloe Tour as the team was put through their paces before spending more than an hour posing for photos and signing autographs.
The Bush2Bledisloe Tour was the brainchild of McKenzie and he was ecstatic to see it come to fruition in such a successful way.
“I had the idea but a lot of other people have put things in place, we talked about it probably nine months ago so to finally be here is terrific,” he said.
“We’ve still got the Waratahs to arrive but everyone’s happy and everything is in place for the New Zealand game but also we’re getting out and touching the minds and hearts of kids out here.”
Locals got the chance to pose for a photo with the Bledisloe Cup itself which will be up for grabs when Australia and the All Blacks meet on August 16 in a match McKenzie described as the hardest game a player can take part in.
There were also a number of games and activities testing the skills of local youngsters while a small group of Dubbo Roos’ juniors acted as ballboys during the training run.
With the Waratahs players still enjoying some time off after winning Saturday’s Super Rugby final it was an undermanned session but the players in attendance were still worked hard by McKenzie and his staff.
Halves Nic White and Matt Toomua were heavily involved while the position of hooker looks a clearcut battle between James Hanson and Nathan Charles after Tatafu Polota-Nau’s injury on Saturday. The only concern from the session was an ankle injury to ACT Brumbies’ big man Scott Sio which led to him ending the session on crutches but former Warren junior and current Wallabies back-rower, Ben McCalman, said it was a great afternoon and a trip he in particular wanted to be a part of.
“I always enjoy getting back home, I’ve had a couple of weeks off and it was good to get back to the family farm and get some away time.” he said, adding the whole squad was enjoying the trip west of the mountains.
“They’re enjoying it so far, a few of the boys are from Queensland country but they enjoy seeing a bit of countryside out here, it’s nice and green at the moment and hopefully that keeps up.”