Sadia Kabeya's Six Nations Column | Fallow Week
Fallow week was relaxing, but we’re back in camp and ready for Scotland week
Our training schedule was fairly stripped back in the fallow week. There was one main day of training which was almost like a mix of our two main pitch days that we usually have on a Test week. It involved a bit of speed, a bit of defence and a bit of attack, but aside from that the week consisted of a lot of organisational meetings. It was pretty chilled out, especially compared to what we’re used to in a normal Test week.
STAND UP IF YOU LOVE THE DARTS
We were able to enjoy a team social on Tuesday evening after our main training session. I think it was Hannah Botterman and Abbie Ward who came up with the idea of a darts social, which all started when Botts suddenly decided we needed a darts board in camp. She set up a mini campaign with our team manager to get us a board and we eventually got one. Mitch had been talking about organising a proper team social for a while, so it seemed like the perfect time.
We were split into mini teams, and we got to decide what our darts names would be. Mine was Sadia ‘Hurricane’ Kabeya (after Hurricane Katrina, which was also my walkout song) and we had Amy Cokayne on the mic calling out all the scores. Mo Hunt was on tunes to play all the darts classics and we had a camera set up on the board so everyone could see what people were scoring. Everyone loved it.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
We had a six-day turnaround for Wales in week two because our first game was on a Sunday, so we haven’t had a regular training week since Italy week. I looked at the schedule at the beginning of this week and I’d almost forgotten how busy it is; We get a lot done in a day…
For me, the day usually starts at 7:45 in the morning when I get out of bed, get ready and head down for breakfast. I always have two poached eggs on toast, and if there’s salmon and avocado, I’ll have that too. From there we go straight into our training day which, for us forwards, usually starts with strapping. On a main training day, the forward and backs will split up for meetings and then we’ll come together for a team meeting before we go out onto the pitch for a heavy session. We then have the option after training for an ice bath, which everyone enjoys massively, of course… And then after that we’ll head in for lunch and then get in the gym in the afternoon.
Our days are really front loaded, so after dinner we have the evenings to ourselves. I’m studying for my degree in Sports Science, Physical Education and Coaching at Loughborough University so we’ve set up a little study club in camp which consists of me, Lucy Packer, and sometimes Ellie Kildunne. Our evenings are usually spent doing uni work until our brains switch off, at which point we end up playing Codename, which is one of the board games we have in camp.
BACK IN THE SEVEN JERSEY
For the Scotland game I’m making the shift from six to seven on the team sheet which is something I’m really excited about. Seven is my primary position at club although I’m a bit nervous (because I’m so used to playing six for England), not much really changes for me in terms of my focus. It’s all about going about my business and working hard for the rest of the team. The last time I wore the seven shirt for England was in 2022 against Fiji, and I always knew there was a possibility that I’d be playing seven at some point in this tournament, so I’ve been preparing for it and now I’m just excited to get out there.
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