Wallabies coach Michael Cheika brought a rugby league influence one step closer to his side on Tuesday, running an opposed session with NRL side, the Sydney Roosters.
Cheika has a long-standing relationship with Roosters coach Trent Robinson, who has previously been a part of Wallabies training.
The sides played out a hybrid game on Tuesday, playing rugby in attack and the 13-man game in defence and vice versa, a different structure for the future Moore Park neighbours.
Broncos fan Nick Frisby was one especially excited to have the Roosters drop in.
“I'm a massive rugby league fan, I am a Broncos supporter but it was a huge thrill to see some of those guys up close and then to actually train with them and against them was awesome,” he said.
“I just tried to stay away from the big boys.”
Frisby said it was a good chance to test out some different skills against players of a different code, in what was a physical encounter.
“I think there was a good respect for both games there today and we ran a bit of a hybrid game, attacking in union and defending in league and vice versa.
“It was interesting to see how the different skills transfer across the different games.”
Nick Phipps, whose Waratahs are based next door to the Roosters during Super Rugby season, said it was enlightening to change things up in the session.
“It’s obviously something different that we haven't done before but it was great training against some of those great players,” he said.
“Such a prestigious club, a lot of history there and their players are obviously at the peak of their game and getting to share a few ideas and going against each other in training against teams that haven't seen how they play too much, is something that's been pretty good.”
While there were a few ideas exchanged, Phipps joked there was some information they couldn’t get out of their league counterparts.
“It was different for them, not having that 10-metre line against them and it was different for us the way they defended,” he said.
“It was great sharing a bit of knowledge... it was a great experience.”
