Brothers-turned-Wallabies inspiring teammates ahead of Hospital Cup decider
No one really knows the best way to prepare for a grand final.
But waking up on Sunday morning to watch two teammates represent their country on the other side of the world can’t be a bad start.
“We had a moment to reflect last night at training that before the corresponding game last year, we had Hamish Stewart and Harry Wilson both in our huddle,” Brothers coach Ben McCormack told Rugby News.
“12 months later, one is about to make his Wallabies debut and the other is about to captain his country for the first time.
“It was a pretty cool moment and the boys acknowledged that. We’ve obviously still got Harry’s better brother Will here and the Wilson family are a big part of the club so we’re really happy for all of them and the Stewart family as well.”
Brothers face Wests in the Hospital Cup decider for the second straight season at Ballymore on Sunday afternoon and while McCormack was quick to point out that no two grand finals are ever the same, he said Brothers has had one big advantage in recent weeks.
“Grand final week is always an exciting time and we’re lucky this year to have lots of Brothers’ teams training and prepping around us. There’s been a really good buzz around the place this week.
“It’s helped us massively. We’ve been able to change our opposition a few times over the last few weeks for opposed session and that’s been good for everybody at the club, on and off the field.
“It’s not going to get the job done for us, we’ve all still got to perform on Saturday and Sunday but it’s been a big help.”
Brothers fought back from 12-0 down to beat Wests in the major semi final a fortnight ago and while McCormack admitted the week off had come at a good time for his side, he thinks they’ll need to lift again to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since Canberra in 2002.
“We’ve bounced back well. We had a few niggles going into the major semi and a lot of sore bodies coming out of it so it was good to get an extra week to get everyone right,” the coach said.
“The set piece and first phase ball is going to be massive. If Wests get lots of quality ball off their set piece and get quality first phase ball, well they’ll be pretty hard to beat.
“They’ve got talent right across the field. It’s pretty well documented what they’ve got on the edges but they’ve got talent from 1-23 and getting their first choice centre pairing back last week made a big difference.
“If you focus too much on one area, they’ll burn you in another so the best way to stop them is to disrupt their source of possession.”
Brothers will contest six of nine Premier Rugby grand finals at Ballymore over the weekend kicking off with third grade colts and fifth grade across both fields from 9:30am on Saturday.
Brothers will also contest the second, third and fourth grade grand finals across a weekend when temperatures are predicted to hit the mid thirties.
McCormack said he’s more worried about the spectators than the players though.
“Coming out of winter, none of the sides would have played in those sort of conditions so they’ll notice it. But I don’t think it’s a deciding factor. It’s just something we need to be mindful of,” he said.
“No two grand finals are ever the same, even though it’s Brothers v Wests again in first grade. It’s a different Wests side and a different Brothers side even though some players are back again.”
“It’ll be good to watch though, I’m confident of that.”
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