British Army join Totts in training session

Tottonians senior side welcomed the British Army to Water Lane last Tuesday evening for a joint training season.

Under the watchful eye of Tottonians coach and the British Army Head Coach, the same man in Lieutenant Colonel Tim Osman, the two sides were put through their paces, playing out game situations as the Inter Services champions prepared for the defence against the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force while Totts prepared themselves for their final league game at Chobham.

Following the session, Tim was played with how it went.  “It was a useful run out for us [Army] as we have had a camp during the week with the majority of the squad on the back of playing the French Army so trained out of Winchester Army Training Regiment for a few days which has been great with the opportunity to have a 48-hour camp which gave us this opportunity to do some live stuff with Tottonians too.”

Tim explained who the joint session came about.  “We were originally supposed to be playing the Irish Defence Force but they weren’t able to fulfil the fixture so we needed to replace that, so a little practice game with Totts was the next best thing as well as taking the Army lads to Winchester and their facilities, change of scenery and freshen up a bit.

“It was an ideal opportunity to come and play against Totts, with it being a bit late notice and if we can do it again, nearer the time in the future or maybe with a Development XV fixture pre-Christmas – if that fits into Totts’ league schedule, then we will look into that.  But right here, right now, it has worked well for both teams.

“And it was a really good session – we suited up a bit to avoid much bone on bone but we played out 15 v 15 and did some condition game work.  It went well.”

Some 30 players from Tottonians rocked up to the Tuesday night training session, from across all three senior teams and a handful of the blossoming Colts so it was a great evening all round for everyone involved.