England sessions are a hit at Oswestry

Jack Charmley, Gareth Barrett, Andy Evans and Will Napper made the journey down the M1 to tackle a gruelling fitness session hosted by England coaches Paul Stridgeon and Neil Parsley as well as Head of Athletic Performance Matt Parker.

Oswestry won a national grassroots rugby competition, QBE Hit Squad, back in January and were rewarded with specialist coaching sessions during the season run by England World Cup winner Neil Back. They were one of four amateur rugby clubs across the country to taste success.

And part of the prize also saw them head to The Lensbury Club in London where they were joined by the other Hit Squad winners and taken through the type of session that is regularly executed by the England team. The drills included a pushing sled, cycle machines and exercise ball wrestling.

"We put them through a conditioning session which features many rugby specific movements," said Stridgeon. "From wrestling in a tug-of-war format to the tackle bags and getting the guys moving quickly off the floor; we try and integrate as many key aspects of the game into a session.

"All the players were really impressive in such a high intensity training session."

The day was completed with an exclusive seminar hosted by Elite Sports Nutritionist Matt Lovell who took the players through the basic concepts on rugby specific sports nutrition.

For Oswestry coach Gareth Barrett, the experience provided some key learnings that can be applied for next season's league campaign.

"It was such an eye opening experience for the players to basically live the life of an England rugby player in camp for the day," he said. "Most of the drills we've never executed before and can apply to our own pre-season programme.

"This, alongside a more balanced nutritional approach, will have a huge impact and see the team in the best condition yet going into a season."