My family is the biggest part of my life and everything I do is for them. I want to honour my love for my father with a very special challenge.

‘…we need to look beyond just performance. It’s bigger than that and that’s what I really love about being here.’

‘Turning up day in, day out, trying to control the simple things and watching the results happen pretty much as planned is such a motivation.’

‘Success would be to find new limits year on year, knowing that there are new milestones to reach as every season passes.’

‘it’s the enormity of the task, combined with the opportunities to improve, which are really motivating’

It’s 6 am. Much like it did 12 weeks ago, the coffee grinder burrs to life, its fresh aromas providing my first connection to the waking world.

Pointless? Yes. Bandwagon? Well, we well and truly jumped on it. Alluring? Absolutely. Let’s rewind two months. Our squad are embarking on a training day…

The bigger the disturbance to homeostasis induced by high-intensity work, the bigger the signalling response that drives adaptation.

Time on task - riding your bike into the sunset, swimming in the murky sea, running drills on your local rugby pitch – outdoors, and with an end goal in mind.

The evening before is filled with trepidation, as it is before any kind of test. Tomorrow is going to determine whether I have a future in this sport.

In this relationship, you are the most important person. Without you, there are no start lines and no environments for us to create.