After getting back into work at the clinic in South Melbourne and helping some patients out with their final preparations to get their bodies right ahead of the Melbourne Marathon, Hawaii Ironman & Duathlon World Championships in Adelaide. So I thought I would take a brief moment of respite to put together a quick blog recap on my recent tour to Vietnam with the Joey’s.
After getting back from Cambodia with the team the previous month, it was good to get the call up again to join the team once again for the next tour to Vietnam, which was the important one for the year and the one that would set the team up for the next two years and start the boys on the road to the world cup.
The tour started with me, the team doctor and all the players flying into Sydney to meet up before departing the next day for Bangkok to get our connecting flight and meeting the remainder of the staff in Vietnam who had come across from France a couple of days prior where they had been working with the older age group of players. We had the same make-up in the Sports Medicine team as the previous tour to Cambodia with myself, Physiotherapist Deane Stephens from Adelaide and Sports Physician Ross Cairns from Newcastle.
The tournament structure would run slightly differently this time around, with only three games to be played in a one day on one day off format against Guam, Myanmar and then expected to finish with the most challenging match against the home team Vietnam.
The first few days involved some lighter training sessions and mobility work to ensure the boys were all back to normal after the flight over and setting themselves up for some quality training before the games kicked off. Our daily routine before the games started involved wellness monitoring of the players in the morning, breakfast, training, active recovery session’s in the pool at the hotel, lunch, treatment as required, dinner and bed. One of the days also included a double training session day for the players.
After the last tour to Cambodia, which was also the first time many boys travelled internationally, it was pretty impressive for the team to be set up in the Crowne Plaza in West Hanoi. There would be no shortage of options for the boys (or staff) to load up on the carbs with the buffet selection on offer each day.
The team all got through the lead in training relatively well and dominated the first game 14 – 0 against Guam. So it was good for the boys to have an easier game to start with and get some time on the pitch that would be used for the remainder of the games. Luckily, the weather held on for most of the games, so the pitch didn’t get torn up as much as expected.
The routine stayed pretty stock standard between matches, with the only difference being some easier training on the off days, the inclusion of some ice baths for recovery and more treatment time to ensure that all the player’s who played the previous day got some time on the treatment table.
The next game against Myanmar was slightly tougher, with a final score of 3 – 1 with some missed opportunities throughout the game. Nevertheless, it was a good wake up for the team before the last match against Vietnam in 2 days.
In the final game against Vietnam, it was a do or die battle for the win. Get through, and the world cup is still on the cards in 2 years, lose the game and risk missing out on qualifying for the next stage in India via a countback system and have it out of the team’s control. So a win was a must.
The game was intense from the sidelines throughout the game, and I was relieved briefly when we went 1 – 0 up after a header from Mersim Memeti. For the remainder of the game, it was back and forth, and both teams had several opportunities that were missed. Our keeper Jacob Botic made some cracking saves to keep the game in our favour. The pressure was released at the end of the game when the whistle blew, and the scoreline read 1 – 0.
One of the personal highlights for this tour was the Aussie, Aussie, Aussie chants in the change rooms post-game, a great change in emotion post-tournament compared to the 3rd place in Cambodia a month earlier.
There wasn’t too much time for celebration back at the hotel on the Sunday night after our win over Vietnam with a 5:30 am departure from the hotel the following day to start the journey back home to Melbourne.
Overall it was a quality tour to be involved with and a team that I hope to follow as they transition into the senior programs.
Toby
