24 August, 2o16. 16:45
ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
WALLABIES COACH MICHAEL CHEIKA HAS reached out to greyhound trainers, who had their fate sealed this morning by the New South Wales Legislative Council, to ‘blood’ his team ahead next month’s Bledisloe showdown.
After capturing a live New Zealander, local greyhound trainer Glenn Monkton arrived this afternoon in Sydney with an idea in mind.
Leaving for work this morning, 23-year-old Auckland-native Sam Dunhill never thought his lunch break would end with him being kidnapped off the street, blindfolded and thrown into the boot of a nearby car.
Early this afternoon in a soggy Sydney, Dunhill had a ball taped to his hands and his sickly Kiwi body tied to the Wentworth Park jack rabbit in central Sydney – where he was chased around by the Wallabies backs for hours on end.
“It’s an old trick we used to do with the dogs,” said Monkton.
“Let them catch the thing a few times, just so they know it’s not impossible to tackle a Kiwi when he’s got the ball. It should work a treat. Using live bait is much more effective, too. It works much better than a four-year-deal at the Rebels,”
“We slowed the thing right down and let the boys tackle the New Zealander a few times, then gradually made it quicker. It’s very important to teach these blokes that Kiwi centres aren’t made of stone. Sure it hurts when they run over the top of you, but you can do the same thing to them and it’ll hurt them just as much.” he said.
Coach Cheika agrees with the 64-year-old former canine-professional, saying that while ‘blooding’ rugby players is a controversial activity, it’s what they’ve done in the past and it works.
The Wallabies team will be announced in the coming days.
Ripper, a great idea
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