DAY 17 (Part One) – As well as the games, training and activities throughout the past three weeks, the 2015 Academy tour of Australia has given all of the staff an opportunity to meet up with friends and colleagues from years gone by, writes Ian Talbot.
Former Saints coaches, Daniel Anderson, Royce Simmons, Mick Potter and Nathan Brown have all made time to come along and meet up with the tour party, chat and reminisce about good times gone by.
One member of staff in particular who has more memories than most is club stalwart and record appearance holder Eric Chisnall.
Eric is no stranger to Australia, having been on all six of the academy tours to date, acting as an assistant coach and mentor to the lads.
This goes with his impressive playing CV, representing all St Helens, England and Great Britain on these shores.
Eric got the opportunity to meet up with former Saints teammates Cliff Watson and Dave Eckersley but more importantly, and impressively, he got to sit in the same seat at the Sydney Cricket Ground that he has done several times before.
Eric has played in the world renowned stadium on four occasions; two test matches for Great Britain in 1974, a World Cup game for England in 1975 and the 1976 world club championship match for St Helens against Eastern Suburbs, now known as Sydney Roosters.
The lads, and the rest of the staff, always enjoy chatting with Eric, listening to stories of his experiences and about how the game was played in his day.
One thing is for sure, that every person that has ever been on one of the academy tours has the utmost respect for Eric and his achievements, and having the privileged opportunity to listen, first hand, to some stories about the heritage of our game really enhances what already is a once in a lifetime experience.
