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Boot camp pays off for Aussies

Tuesday 18th November 2008

Looking Sharpe: Boot camps 'secret' to Wallabies' success on tour

Gruelling boot camps have been credited by the Wallabies following a series of newfound steel on display whilst on tour of Europe.

Before Australia embarked on their longest and most demanding end-of-season assignment in thirteen years of professional rugby, New Zealand-born coach Robbie Deans had his charges sweat it out for a month under acclaimed trainer Pete Harding.

The Wallabies were put through session after session of conditioning-based drills and exercises designed to increase skill levels under physical and mental fatigue.

There was a lot of weight, speed and strength work plus miles and miles of running, but mostly with ball in hand to improve execution under the pressure of Test-match conditions.

The results have been there as the Wallabies put both Italy and England to the sword, doggedly winning back-to-back Test matches that were in the balance going into the final fifteen minutes.

"The work they've been doing physically with Pete Harding is evident and I think they can feel that," Deans told AAP as the Wallabies prepare to tackle France in Paris on Saturday.

"And that's a big part of it, when you line up on the start line, you've got to have a sense of having a full tank to be able to go the distance."

Full-back Adam Ashley-Cooper, who swan-dived over for the match-sealing try at Twickenham last Saturday, said the pre-tour camps were "absolutely" paying dividends.

"That four weeks was some of the toughest training I've ever been involved with," said Ashley-Cooper.

"I mean, 10 sessions in four days, that was really tough.

"But we're really starting to feel the effects of it now. We're starting to play for the 80 minutes. We're out-running football teams, which is really important for us."

Barnstorming number eight Wycliff Palu described the training as brutal.

"It was like a mini off-season," he said.

"It was a pretty tough four days a week there and I think the boys got a lot out of it.

"Definitely last week against England it showed. England had most of the ball for the last 10 minutes, but we held in there and didn't allow a try.

"So I think you're starting to see the benefits."

Lock Nathan Sharpe said the conditioning camps left him feeling "terrific" - and it showed as the 72-Test stalwart turned in one of his finest performances for the Wallabies on Saturday.

"They were pretty full-on," Sharpe said.

"Because we jammed it all into four days, it was pretty much as soon as you got into camp it was go go go until you left on the Friday.

"Plenty of hard work went into it and hopefully towards the end of this tour and at the back end of games it pays a big dividend."