Today we went back to training after a weekend free of any rugby. We were all in the gym this morning which turned out to be a fairly tough session. A combination of weights and some running in the gym situated in our West stand. It's always good to get the weekend out of the system though!

This afternoon we were training up at our new training ground at Druid Park in Woolsington. It is a fantastic facility where the pitch is artificial but cleared by the IRB as suitable for rugby to be played on. The 2nd XV play on this when they have fixtures at home and it is really good for developing a fast paced game which is what we aim for here at Newcastle. However, today it was training consisting of games to develop handling skills, some plays for when we are in 'phase play' which is anything outside of set piece moves. We then had some contact drills thrown at us, which is normal for a Monday. Smashing each other is part of the game and it is an area of the game that all players at all clubs must practice as it is needed to get the ball back so you are not defending and being made to run around by your opponents for the whole game!!

Not too bad for a Monday and it allows us to build towards the away game we have against Bath at the weekend. It is going to provide us with a really tough afternoon as Bath are on top form and are at the top end of the league - somewhere we want to be. But we can go into the game i think with a fair amount of confidence as our last game, away at Gloucester, was perhaps a game that we should have won and Kingsholm is by no means an easy place to play. We will try to have a good week and i will keep you posted about what we are up to this week.

Tuesday we started off having the morning off which is a good way to break the week up as we need to be fresh for the game at the weekend rather than simply training for training's sake as some coaches like to do.

Training today was our defensive day where we practice our defensive shape against the guys who are not in the squad for that week. Some of it gets pretty aggressive but we are normally hitting bags and shields rather than each other - even though some of the lads love to get out a few of the cheap shots! Same people too so you try to avoid turning you back for too long!

Only a quick hour and a quarter which is good; not because i want to get home but because at this stage of the season you start to get a bit tired and long training sessions drain you far quicker mentally and physically.

Wednesday morning we were back in the gym for primarily a weights session. Bob Morton and Mark Wilkinson are good coaches who love to have a bit of banter flying around in the gym. We all tend to get stuck into each other during the session with some banter being aimed at Bob who is very easy to wind up! 

Wednesday afternoon is the best day of you are involved in the squad as we practice what we are best at - attacking. Again, only a short session, an hour or so with all the lads swapping in and out so that the subs get a chance to run in the team so when they come on they know exactly what is going on!

With the England lads away we are looking like a very similar team to the side that did very well (in terms of performance!) against Gloucester a couple of weeks back. The guys that do not normally get a chance to play have an opportunity and they have trained well this week and i look forward to seeing how they go this weekend; they are looking good to me!

It is an interesting end to the week - we have a day off tomorrow (Thursday) when i will probably try to chill out a bit and maybe have 9 holes of golf up at Linden Hall where we are members. It's good to get out and have a hit as i feel terrible if i have done nothing all day. I can't sit there and play Playstation for hours on end like some professional players like to do. There are a few reasons for this but i really don't like sitting down and doing nothing; it seems like such a waste of time. There seems like so many other things that could be done instead that would be more constructive. I sound like my mother but that is the way i feel. Don't get me wrong, if  am really tired  love sitting down on the sofa and just chilling but not too often.

I have spent most of my time in the past months working on developing this site and that has kept me really busy. It does worry me about the guys who play professional sport and do nothing else with their time. One day, wether it be due to no contract renewal, age or injury, the game will come to an end professionally. In my view players should be doing everything they can to find something that interests them while they are playing that they can perhaps move straight into when they finish. James Grindal the Newcastle scrum half for example, has spent time working for HSBC developing his knowledge and understanding of that side of business while other lads look to complete some academic qualifications, or in our Captain Phil Dowson's case, flying lessons are taken. Not that i would ever fly with him! I believe that not only does doing something outside the game keep your brain working, it also allows you to approach your rugby training with some more enthusiasm than normal perhaps as you are not thinking about rugby all day which is very boring! 

Sorry to go off on one! We are flying to Bristol which is far better than a coach but then the time of the flight is not great - a 5.30 am meet at Newcastle airport! We are training when we get there which will break up a long day and then we play on Saturday at lunchtime before getting the coach home!

Newcastle Falcons v Wasps (Guinness Premiership Round 15)

Game days can be very boring and none more so than when you are playing in the evening! You can approach the match in two different ways – put your feet up, watch TV and generally get very fidgety throughout the day or carry on as normal with your daily jobs and just relax for a couple of hours in the middle of the afternoon. I tend to go for the latter!

Today I got up as normal when the dogs started barking at 8 am and then answered all of my emails from Adrian who has been running the show at Everything Rugby in terms of getting the technical side ready! I have simply had the job of checking everything and agreeing to how the site looks.

I took the dogs out for an hour or so to the town moor where I was nearly blown off my feet by the unbelievably strong winds that are sweeping through Newcastle. I am not sure if there is anything worse than playing in strong winds; I would prefer to play in the rain than the wind! Wind seems to have the ability to completely ruin a game – far more than rain can anyway. We can only hope that they subside slightly before the game begins at 8 m tonight.

This afternoon I have spent the day with my parents who have come up from Kent to watch tonight’s game and sorted out a few more sections for the website. Even though we have been working towards this launch point for nearly a year there seems to be lots of jobs still to do that I could perhaps done a while ago!

I will probably have a sleep in an hour or so and then I will go and have a stretch to loosen my legs off for this evening. Some will say that professional sports people have any easy life – some of my friends certainly do but when you get a chance to relax, do something you need to do and relax, you take it. The training that takes place on a day-to-day basis is very tough and towards this end of the season you really start to feel the tiredness and learn to take advantage of the rest you are given!

Having had my stretch and got myself fully prepared for the game I arrived at Kingston Park in some of the worst weather I have experienced in my 10 years at the club and that is saying something as I think our ground may be in one of the windiest places in the country! I walked into the changing room and was absolutely soaked through from the driving rain and was promptly told that the game had been postponed – part of the post had been blown away and the roof of the stand was in danger of coming away!

Even though all of the lads were ready to play and would have gone at Wasps as we would in any other situation, I think there was some relief that the officials had realised that not only would the game have been terrible but there was also some degree of danger posed to both players and supporters. Some of the lads were all ready to go out and start warming up – John Rudd had had a massage and had finished having his two creaking ankles strapped only to have to take it all off within minutes!

Most of us went into the gym to do a fitness session with Mark Wilkinson, Jonny’s brother. Weights and some anaerobic work was on the cards and to be honest it was an uncomfortable 45 minutes! We were really pushed in the running drills, doing down and ups combined with some other excercises in groups of 3.

When a game is cancelled the lads are always keen to get some sort of fitness under their belt as otherwise you go into the weekend feeling like you have done nothing – and when you are in the habit of training everyday that is a position that the lads don’t like to be in. It’s weird really as I suppose you would think that many of the lads would be straight home and then off out on the drink but as I say you get in a habit and no one likes to feel like they have done nothing.

We will meet up again on Monday now and train in the gym and probably do some rugby training in the afternoon. It will be a big week as the England lads are away again for the 6 Nations game against Scotland so we will have to put some hard work in before our away game at Bath next Saturday lunchtime.