...BACK WITH ADDED BITE!!!

Tomás Reid, Tobias Tirei, Manuel Jorge and Tomás Flora da Silva spent a gruelling but unforgettable couple of weeks at the world famous Sharks Academy in Durban over the summer. Read Tomás Flora da Silva's Tour Diary here.

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Day 1

Bags packed, passports checked, seats booked and we’re ready to go! After a small reunion with our families, Maria Gaivão and Giselle, where we took photos and said our farewells, we finally took off by ourselves. We knew we had to be very careful as it was Tobias' first time flying. We took in consideration that it was going to be a tough day, as we had three flights to catch. Everything was going as initially planned until we got to Johannesburg. Due to a flight delay in Heathrow, we had a very limited time to actually check-in with the other flight. After some severe stress and running around, we finally managed to catch the plane.  

Our arrival to Durban was a major stress relief. We met Tinus Pienaar, our driver who took us to our guesthouse, the Thekweni guesthouse. Then, we met both our hosts, Glennece and her husband, who gave us a very warm welcome. The place was amazing. 100 metres away from the house lay a beautiful, tranquil beach. Our arrival soon turned out to be particularly special, as the guesthouse was hosting a group of Taiwanese. The group itself gave us a warm welcome too and even gave an experience of a traditional Taiwanese greeting ceremony. We finally installed ourselves in our room and used the rest of the afternoon to get a full rest. The road to South Africa was finally complete. 

Day 2 

The day kicked off pretty normally. We had 2 days to relax as the academy only started on Monday. We used the day to get to know a little better our (English) new mates. Later, we decided to go for a walk and go down to visit 'La Lucia' mall. Then, we had two other mates joining us at the guesthouse. Surprisingly enough, they were Argentinian! Tomás Reid and I took advantage of the fact that we went there last summer to talk about our experience. To wrap up they day, we headed down to the beach were we played a touch game against the English and the Argentinians. Fatigued, we then got back to the guesthouse and went to the pool all together. A great way to finish the afternoon. In the evening, we decided to remember our childhoods and play monopoly! Funny thing was that it was South African monopoly! 

Day 3

Today was our last chance to relax and enjoy some free time around Durban. After meeting another English team mate, we decided to go visit the Gateway Mall. We took this opportunity to get some souvenirs for our families. Later on we had lunch at Nando’s. To wrap up the afternoon, we headed back to the guesthouse where we welcomed a couple more mates. They were massive! After having dinner together, we thought the best option was to get an early night, as the Academy experience proper was about to start.

Day 4 

Our first visit to the actual academy and its installations was absolutely astonishing. We arrived at the academy with huge expectations, and I must say, we were not disappointed. The "Mr.Price Kings park Stadium" was amazing. The installations themselves were actually covered with various fields around them, where the sub-19, sub-21 and senior squads have their daily practice. The stadium is actually placed side to side with the stadium used for the World Cup 2010. After meeting the staff that would be in charge of us for the next two weeks, we had the pleasure of having a Q&A session with four senior players of the club, including the iconic springbok figures, Patrick Lambie and Marcel Coetzee. Straight after this, we were given the kit. Training kit, golf polos …You name it! Then, after having a delicious lunch provided by the Academy, we headed straight to the gym where we had to be weighed and so on. Then we went straight down to the field where our fitness was tested. Each individual player had one minute to do as many push-ups as he possibly could. After completing the exercise, we were all amazed at what our Lithuanian mate had just accomplished. This unknown creature managed to do 112 push-ups in one minute! We soon realized that these two weeks were going to be extremely demanding. We finished the day off with some continuous sprints, again very demanding. Then we headed back to the guesthouse, had a good cold bath, had our dinner with the rest of our team mates and headed straight to bed. We were knackered on Day One! 

Day 5 

The second day of the Academy was absolutely great. We had to wake up earlier because the first session started early. We learnt how to side-step and the various techniques that make a player more agile when one on one against the opponent.

After our first morning break, we headed to our first session of SAQ. Speed, Agility, Quickness. The coach introduced us a new technique of running. At first it was awkward to run, it was almost like marching. But after a little bit of practice, we realized that it was quite comfortable and helpful too. We learnt how to use momentum for our next consecutive step. This way, we would have more power in each step.

The best hour of the day then came along next. It was lunchtime. For some reason, the Academy's lunch is delicious.

Then we headed back inside the stadium where we were going to have our daily lecture. Today, we were given a lecture referring to nutrition. With the help of a nutritionist, we got some information on supplements and which to take. It helped us to know the various facts surrounding supplements. Finally we ended with our first gym session. It was very exhausting. Our muscles were starting to hurt by now. Fortunately, the day did not end up being so exhausting after all, as we had the privilege of watching the Sharks senior squad training. The game technique and the speed of the game itself was breath-taking. Compared to the Rugby we are used to seeing in Portugal, it was on a completely different plane. After taking some pictures and dreaming of the possibility of one day represent a team like that, we headed back to the guesthouse where we had some driving skills shown by the bus driver. 

Day 6 

Today we practiced rucking and malling with Etienne, the forwards coach for the under 21s. The day was as tiring as any other training we had had before. However, the day was marked by a particularly interesting feature; it was our mate's birthday. To celebrate this special occasion, we had Glennace, the hostess, baking a delicious cake for the whole group. Later, we were given the night out so we went to a steakhouse where we all ate a 500g T-bone steak! It was even more amusing as a glass of wine was offered to the birthday boy.

Day 7

Sweat, sweat, sweat and sweat! We all agreed that today was the hardest day of the lot. It kicked off pretty normally, having a session about beating the man. Then after the SAQ session and lunchtime, we had our toughest gym hour. The coaches really did everything so that we could push through the limits and we did! Arriving home was somewhat a blessing. We literally could not move our whole bodies, especially our legs. Luckily we had an 11 hour sleep waiting for us... Thank God. 

Day 8 

Contact continuity was the main session of the day. Then came the SAQ and the gym session. The week was almost over. We were looking forward to the weekend so we could finally rest. 

Day 9 

The day was highlighted by the marvelous trip to the Tala reserve. After a morning session about counter attack and kicking, we headed north to the reserve. It was absolutely amazing. Personally, I had never done a 'safari' and to have the possibility to do it on a rugby trip was outstanding. The reserve was covered with hippos, ostriches, giraffes and more! It was very nice to be able to see these wild animals up so close but in the wild. 

Day 10

We were very excited for what was waiting for us this afternoon. After a nice beach day, where we had some fitness sessions and a touch rugby game, Tinus finally gave us what we most wanted... The tickets for tonight's game! The sharks were playing the Cheetahs and we couldn't wait to see guys like Patrick Lambie perform. Before the game kicked off, we all got quite excited by the sight of the beautiful Sharks cheerleaders performing at their best. Then, the kick off was next. It was amazing to see a rugby game of such calibre live. This game meant a lot as they had to win by 4 tries at least to qualify for the playoffs. Fortunately, they made it! The rest of the night was used to celebrate OUR victory. 

Day 11

Our weekend rest ended with a full day's excitement. Today we went to the 'Ushaka marine' world where we had the possibility of visiting Africa's biggest aquarium and water park. Our Sunday could not have been better. We got to see a dolphin show and ride on 12 water slides. It was funny to see the bigger people, in this case the props, as they created so much splatter all over the slides. Tomorrow was going to be another tough day.

Day 12 

Unfortunately, I pulled my thumb at the ‘Ushaka Marine World’ and I couldn’t do certain trainings in the following week. However, I got to visit the physiotherapist and the Shark’s Medical center and it was great. I was treated like royalty. The highlight of the day was our afternoon lecture as it was about public speaking. It was really funny as Etienne (The forwards coach running the lecture) kept on picking on the Portuguese ‘blocks’.

Day 13

The main topic of today’s session was defense. I was hoping I could play today but I hadn’t fully recovered. From an ‘off-field’ view, I have to admit that the boys worked hard. It was very intense at the contact situation. Then in the afternoon we had a lecture referring to the role of the Academy. It was very interesting to hear Hans Scriba, the managing director, explain what it was like to run an academy like this.

Then came along another gym session… Tomás Reid was the only one looking forward for it. Surprisingly enough we survived! After a hard-working day, the coaches suggested a restaurant in Durban where Rugby players were more than welcome. It was the 1kg steak challenge! If anyone could eat a 1kg steak, 1kg chips and 1L of soda in less than 45 minutes, then the meal would be for free! It was a MUST, we had to try this. We couldn't wait to get started. When we actually got the steak we couldn't believe it… it was ginormous. We were all nervous from the start except for our English mate. Jack, the 16-year old, 135 kg prop was more than anxious to start the challenge. Jack managed to the steak… and the chips… and drink the soda… in less than 14 minutes! He nearly beat the Shark’s record which was held by the Beast! In the end, 8 out of 30 players managed to clean their dish… none of them were Portuguese.

Day 14

Unfortunately, it was our last complete day at the Academy.  Nevertheless, I was actually looking forward to it as the physiotherapist gave me the conformation that I could start playing again. The morning session was basically catching and passing. We were fascinated at the way they taught us how to pass. The passing itself made a ‘pendulum’ effect and we had to use our arms more instead of our wrists. This improved a lot our weakest hand pass as we found it much easier than the previous method.

Day 15

We were hoping it would never arrive but sadly it did! It was our last day of training. We were all going to miss the coaches’ stories and techniques that they taught us throughout these two weeks. But they were still looking to tire the players with a hardcore slow-ball session. This was basically pick and go’s.

After our morning session we went straight to the gym where we saw Chester (the gym coach) with a big smile. He had prepared an outdoor circuit for us to complete. It was over.

After a quick shower we finally went back to the Ushaka Marine world where we went to have a closing lunch at the Cargo Hold restaurant. It was very nice to have lunch with the members of staff and our Rugby mates. At the end of the dinner, Hans Scriba had one last surprise for us… Awards! We were all very excited to see Tomas Reid get an award for his dedication and performance in the gym sessions. Tagged along his certificate was an official Sharks T-shirt! We were all extremely jealous!

Day 16

It was finally our last day of the trip. After packing our bags and figuring out solutions for our family souvenirs, it was time to say goodbye. We took this opportunity to give Glennace (he Host) what Portugal does best… fine wine. After the hugs and the ‘thank yous’ we got on the bus and wished for more. After long hours of sleeping on the plane, we finally arrived at the Lisbon Airport. Our lives were sadly back to normal.

To conclude, I think that we are all extremely grateful for this opportunity. Over the past fortnight, the dream of becoming a professional rugby player was still alive. We made friends for the rest of our lives and we lived experiences that we will always treasure. On behalf of the ‘Portuguese Blocks’ we would like to thank the Club, the Academy and Africa itself for letting us live these unforgettable moments.