Wallabies tackle boot camp as going gets tough for World Cup

AUSTRALIA lock Nathan Sharpe and winger Mark Gerrard believe the hardships of the five-day army-style boot camp the Wallabies are currently undergoing will galvanise the team ahead of the World Cup.

The players and staff, with the exception of head coach John Connolly, assembled in Brisbane on Sunday morning before being taken to North Stradbroke Island off Brisbane’s east coast for day one of the regime.

Australia’s World Cup-winning cricketers underwent a similar camp last year, and the intentions of organisers BLP were made clear early on when the unwilling recruits were deposited overboard 400 metres off-shore.

“I’ve had an hour and a half of sleep, have been swimming through the night and woke up with frostbite on my toes so I’m not feeling real positive about anything at the moment,” Sharpe said yesterday.

A 4km march and a 1.5km afternoon bush walk followed before a wake-up-call at 10.30pm brought another assignment — a 2km walk to a lake, a 12-minute swim in near-freezing temperatures and another 5km hike.

“I’m not used to getting up and taking my gear off at one o’clock in the morning,” Gerrard admitted.

The 24-year-old feels, however, it will be of great benefit to the Wallabies on the pitch when the World Cup gets underway next month.

He said: “We’ve got a great feel within the side and we know we’re in good stead at the moment.

“Obviously some of the boys are not so happy at the moment — but we’ll take these experiences as they come and I know we’ll look forward to the World Cup and playing some good footy.”

The late-night crossing was complicated by the need to transport their dry clothes wrapped in a plastic bag across with them.

For Gerrard, the task turned sour when his stash ripped halfway across leaving him to spend what was left of the night in damp clothes.