Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Tauranga proves ideal environment for ABs

Bay of Plenty Times
26 Aug, 2015 09:45 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Dan Carter clocks up spins on the stationary bike.
Dan Carter clocks up spins on the stationary bike.

Dan Carter clocks up spins on the stationary bike.

With just three sleeps until the All Blacks squad is announced on Sunday, there were no obvious pre-selection jitters on display among the 19 players who have spent three days this week in Tauranga at a training camp.

All Blacks strength and conditioning coach Nic Gill told the Bay of Plenty Times the camp had been "great, very worthwhile."

"I wouldn't say it was relaxing as the boys worked very hard but just being here in the environment of Tauranga and the Mount, both outdoors at Blake Park and here in Aspire gym, it has been fantastic.

Brodie Retallick rehydrates
Brodie Retallick rehydrates

"Very conducive to working hard together and enjoying the surroundings. For two out of three days the weather was amazing."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

All Black squad hopeful Ma'a Nonu, though, was not impressed by the rain yesterday, joking: "Training was good and the facilities and trainers awesome. But not the weather.

"Being Tauranga and the Mount, we were expecting the sunshine of New Zealand but yesterday a whole lot of rain got dumped on us."

Nonu catches his breath after a training session.
Nonu catches his breath after a training session.

Gill said the camp had been an opportunity to look at rehab plans, injuries "and to work really hard on the areas that are going to help us play rugby better - mainly fitness, strength, power and speed."

Nonu, together with the other players, who included Sonny Bill Williams, Luke Romano, Kieran Read, Ma'a Nonu, Liam Messam and Dan Carter, all departed Tauranga yesterday for their home provinces.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Gill said they would get one day off, then would be back training again before selection day on Sunday.

All Blacks mill around before training.
All Blacks mill around before training.

So why didn't Richie McCaw come to Tauranga?

Although Richie's no show may have disappointed some Tauranga fans, Gill said the camp was on a needs basis and McCaw was not required to attend.

"The camp was an opportunity for me and the physiotherapist Pete Gallagher to look at rehab plans, check injuries and to work with some players.

Discover more

All Blacks cup preparations in full swing

24 Aug 10:30 PM

Rugby: Men in black train in Bay

24 Aug 08:43 PM

School sport: : Junior boys win in thriller

27 Aug 05:32 PM

Grandma organises welcome for All Blacks

03 Sep 07:57 PM

"Richie has no current injuries and has 142 tests under his belt so it was not a priority."

Even without McCaw, the All Blacks were often swamped by requests for selfies from locals.

Gill said they took the attention in their stride and that it was relatively low-key in Tauranga compared to what they would get in England.

As for the final selection, Gill was understandably tight-lipped.

Nonu said that despite his relaxed demeanour it was natural the players were nervous.

"You are always nervous. If you are not nervous you are in a danger zone with professional footy. It is all about preparation," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"You do your prep and respect the opposition. There are nerves as you don't want to let the boys or friends down. You don't want to let fans down."

Tauranga, he said, was a welcome break from the pressures to come, with Nonu driving the boys' van and ribbing his teammates.

"It was supposed to be Kieran or DC on driving duty but I got to it first.

"I wouldn't say I was a better driver than DC, just different," Nonu said.

"The boys have automatics. Dan has a Range Rover Sport. I drive a Ford Ranger. Nothing wrong with that. I drive a manual, you know."

The father of three was going to spend the next day with family, "the kids are missing me", then hopefully it would be game on for him and the others chosen in the squad.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Gill said the boys were "not on a special diet, just eat healthy and lots of it."

-Where they trained: Blake Park and Aspire Health and Sports Bethlehem

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Māori fighter stars in Netflix boxing event

07 Jul 01:24 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Police search for suspect after man shot in leg

06 Jul 10:51 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Teen's sudden cancer diagnosis puts close-knit family on 'rollercoaster ride'

06 Jul 06:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
Landslide hits well-known Island Bay house
New Zealand

Landslide hits well-known Island Bay house

07 Jul 05:28 AM
Butlers Chocolate Cafe closes stores after going into liquidation
Business

Butlers Chocolate Cafe closes stores after going into liquidation

07 Jul 04:56 AM
‘Power grab’: Former PM, Māori leader, disgraced ex-MP lash Seymour’s bill
Politics

‘Power grab’: Former PM, Māori leader, disgraced ex-MP lash Seymour’s bill

07 Jul 04:38 AM
'Amazing achievements': Hawke's Bay Export Awards finalists announced
Hawkes Bay Today

'Amazing achievements': Hawke's Bay Export Awards finalists announced

07 Jul 04:25 AM
'Best chance': Rogerson's commits to Black Knights amid World Cup dreams
Auckland FC

'Best chance': Rogerson's commits to Black Knights amid World Cup dreams

07 Jul 04:24 AM

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Māori fighter stars in Netflix boxing event

Māori fighter stars in Netflix boxing event

07 Jul 01:24 AM

Cherneka Johnson's fight will stream live on Netflix, a first for a Kiwi boxer.

Police search for suspect after man shot in leg

Police search for suspect after man shot in leg

06 Jul 10:51 PM
Teen's sudden cancer diagnosis puts close-knit family on 'rollercoaster ride'

Teen's sudden cancer diagnosis puts close-knit family on 'rollercoaster ride'

06 Jul 06:00 PM
Premium
Balancing power: What the employment law changes mean for you

Balancing power: What the employment law changes mean for you

06 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search