Tour Diaries | Scott Cummings

“It’s been an exciting tour so far, aye. We’ve only been out for a couple of days, but it’s been a great trip so far. Training has been sharp, everyone’s in good spirits, and we’re ready to get going tomorrow now.

“The flight down was pretty smooth actually. Because we flew through the night, most of us were able to get a fair chunk of sleep on the plane – I certainly passed out pretty quickly, anyway! Even though it’s a long-haul, it actually didn’t take too much to get over it – you’re only an hour different time-wise from home, so there’s no jet-lag or anything, which meant we could all get stuck into everything pretty quickly once we got settled in.

“We obviously know it’s going to be a tough game at Loftus [Versfeld]. Everyone is probably aware of the various factors, like the heat, the altitude, not to mention they’re a big, physical team. We’re not going to let it be an excuse for us, though, and we’ve been doing a lot of work on our breathing over the last couple of months. That should help us not only this week, but in the long run too. The strength and conditioning team, the physios, the coaches – everyone’s put us in the best position we could ask to be in ahead of this weekend.

“I’m rooming with Matt [Fagerson], who’s a pretty familiar room-mate for me. We’ve roomed together a lot with Scotland and with Glasgow, so we’re pretty used to each other’s company! Everyone’s looking to socialise with each other though, in fairness – there’s a lot of cards being played, and a fair few coffee runs, which has really contributed to it being a great tour so far.

“I’m really excited for the game. I missed the trip over to Loftus two years ago so I’ve not played here before. Playing the Bulls over here is going to be a real experience, and one I can’t wait for. It’s first against fourth in the league and we know that they’ll be gunning for the result as much as we will be. I can’t wait.”