Don’t forget the sunscreen, lads.
It’s a simple but important message as Super League champions St Helens spend the next couple of days acclimatising to Sydney’s stifling heat.
The players soaked up the morning sun walking down the Manly promenade yesterday morning as the miserable cold weather back home in the north of England felt like a distant memory.
Some players had worked up a sweat by 9am, while club chief executive Mike Rush has already suffered a bad case of sunburn.
Most of the players were tempted to cool off in the surf, but still had the image of a shark mauling a dolphin at the same beach just a couple of weeks back fresh in their minds.
As the mercury surged to 28 degrees celsius on the northern beaches, St Helens coach Paul Wellens explained how he had “still been knocking the ice off the windscreen” before he flew out for Australia.
St Helens players soak up the morning sun at Manly on Saturday.Credit:Flavio Brancaleone
St Helens, who have won the past four titles back home, will trial against St George Illawarra next Saturday ahead of the World Club Challenge the following Saturday against Penrith at BlueBet Stadium from 6pm. However, the immediate focus will be adapting to the conditions, which would have felt like a furnace at Narrabeen Sports Complex at lunchtime, and where they will train again today.
“The heat is not completely alien to us, and last year we flew to Perpignan to play Catalans, as well as flying to Toulouse, where we went from 10 or 12 degrees to playing in 30-degree heat,” Wellens said.
“We’ve got plans and protocols in place. It’s an education thing. We have quite a few guys who are from Australia, and they’re more than aware of what it’s like.
“But for the guys who haven’t come over, and not experienced a climate like this, we have to educate them on what to do and what not to do. The temptation in Manly is to spend five hours on the beach and enjoy it, but in terms of performance, it’s not what is conducive to performing well.
“They’re using hats, sunscreen, and while we want them to enjoy the experience in such a wonderful place, it’s our performance that comes first.”
The players were decked out in a navy and sky-blue training strip yesterday, the same colours they will wear against the Dragons. St Helens are known for playing in red and white, but that will clash with St George Illawarra’s strip.
It has been nearly 20 years since the club wore two shades of blue. The Merseysiders wore chocolate brown and blue when they were established 150 years ago. For the trivia buffs, Mal Meninga wore the same all-blue strip when he played for St Helens in 1984.
All 26 players will feature against the Dragons before Wellens goes all out against Penrith. Local fans should look out for young fullback Jack Welsby and halfback Lewis Dodd, two players who have already popped up on the radar of several NRL clubs.
Such is the buzz back home that 500 fans will make the trek to Sydney on Saturday week for the showdown with the Panthers.
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