Wales cook up a storm

Coach Steve Hansen opted for the ‘home from home’ approach for his squad in Canberra by booking them into serviced apartments next to their training ground, complete with kitchens. Now the players are not only becoming competitive on the pitch, but also in the cooking stakes as they serve up dishes such as red hot chilli, sweet and sour chicken and many variations of pasta.

There are no signs of any budding Jamie Olivers to date, but the good news for Hansen and his management staff is that there have been no cases of food poisoning to date after four days in camp. With a daily allowance of $40 (around £17) nobody is going hungry, although the players have quickly discovered which rooms from which to accept dining invitations.

“It’s a great idea, especially if only to give your mind something different to think about while you’re in camp,” said the Warriors hooker Mefin Davies. “Spending so much time away from home is hard and can get a bit monotonous,especially when everything is being done for you. Probably the hardest thing is keeping yourself mentally occupied when you’re not training, so this is great.

“Cooking is just one of the options. I can’t say I’m much of a chef but some of the lads have really taken to it and have even been inviting others around to their rooms.”

Among those who have turned their hand to creating culinary delights for his team-mates is Davies’s fellow hooker, and budding chef, Huw Bennett. The youngest member of the party at 20, Bennett is doubling up as chief cook and carrier of the special six foot long Welsh love spoon that was gifted to the squad as a lucky charm.

“The option is there to cook for yourselves if you want to and it’s been good fun. It gives you something else to do, completely away from rugby,” said Bennett. “There’s even a bit of competition brewing as to who can rustle up the best meal. Last night I cooked sweet and sour chicken, which went down a storm, so we’ll see who comes up with what next.”

The self-catering option selected by the Welsh was taken after a number of the players complained about spending too many nights in the team’s four-star hotel base at the Vale of Glamorgan Resort, just outside Cardiff.

Some even referred to the hotel as the “Gaol of Glamorgan”, and Hansen even disciplined one player who left the hotel overnight to sleep at home in his own bed. The players will spend twenty-five nights in the Kingston Court and The York apartments in Canberra, but are scheduled for some respite in Melbourne and Sydney when they travel to play Italy and New Zealand.

But if they win through to the quarter-finals then it will be more of the home cooking routine in serviced apartments in Melbourne. By the time they get home they should be able to take over from their loved ones in the kitchen!