The eye on the prize

With less than 12 months until the Sydney Convicts travel to Dublin to defend their title as the reigning premiers of the Bingham Cup, the strategy to defend their world title has begun.

The Bingham Cup will be held in Dublin on 13 -“ 15 June 2008, and is expected to attract over 800 rugby players in 30 teams from around the world.

In New York in 2006, the Sydney Convicts were victors in two divisions of the competition -“ the Bingham Cup and the Bingham Plate.

As defending champions, the Convicts have begun the countdown to ensure they return from Ireland with their winning title intact.

Extensive fundraising, a call for new players and new training regimes have been put into place to set the team on the path to next year’s tournament.

Two teams of Convicts players will travel to Dublin, along with a support team of reserves, coaches, managers and medics.

We really are going there to defend our title and to win, says Iain Jepsen, Convicts public relations manager. But we know we face some stiff competition from the San Francisco Fog -“ they were not happy about losing the Cup in New York,.

Those guys will be out to win, but we are also know there will be serious competition from the English boys of the Kings Cross Steelers.

A recruitment call has gone out for new players to join the Convicts. While the club currently boasts a membership of 60 registered players, Jepsen says new players are being sought to boost the strength of the team.

We are now on the search for any experienced players who have not played rugby for a while to join us as we prepare for next year, he said.

If they have ever wanted the chance to come on a rugby tour, this could be it. And there is sure to be nothing like a week in Dublin with 800 of your best mates.

Training is also about to be ramped up, with a range of techniques used to strengthen the skills of the players, and additional sessions scheduled.

The intensity of training begins now, as everyone has their eyes on the prize, Jepsen said. It is mandatory every player attends at least one training session a week, as well as playing a game on the weekend.

We are about to add more training sessions to the schedule, and then we are working on ways to keep that going throughout summer.

We have two coaches on board and they have brought very different styles to the coaching, but it is working well and winning games for us this season, so we are happy about that.

With the expense of travelling to the other side of the world for the rugby competition prohibitive for some players, the Convicts have a fundraising target of $50,000 over the next 12 months in an effort to subsidise some of the costs.

The Rugger Bugger fundraiser of two weeks ago was the first, with the cheeky revue raising $13,000. The next fundraiser, a trivia night, is being planned for early August.

This weekend, the Noice Convicts team play Killara-West Pymble on Saturday 7 July at 2pm Lofberg Oval, Yanko Road, West Pymble. For updated details on the Halligan Convicts game, check the website -“ www.jellyfish.textdriven.com/sydneyconvicts/wordpress.