TOKYO — From buses stormed by SAS soldiers to Olympic selections delivered through poetry at sunrise, these are the unusual tactics gold medal-winning coach Tim Walsh has used to inspire his Australian men’s sevens team.
Five-years-ago Walsh masterminded Australia’s women’s sevens golden run in Rio, inspiring a surge in popularity of women’s rugby and helping to lay the groundwork for the rise of competitions such as the AFLW and the NRLW.
Now he’s in charge of the men and on the first Friday of July, on the rooftop of their Townsville hotel, 12 of Walsh’s men climbed the stairs not knowing anyone else would be joining them.
Walsh had sent them private messages to meet on the rooftop at 6:31am and to not tell anyone.
Maurice Longbottom — the star of the…
