Busting his balls to get a shot at Olympic gold.
Nick Cummins is back in training for Australia’s Sevens team as he vies to make their 15-man squad for Rio 2016.
‘The Honey Badger’ is just back from an uplifting trip to Europe, with his brother and his father, who is battling cancer. The family-bonding jaunt was not all fun, he revealed, as there was one eye on returning home in decent nick.
Cummins describes the training he undertook in Norway as akin to Rocky Balboa’s routine before he took on Ivan Drago in a smoky ante-room festooned with Communist paraphernalia. Cummins told reporters:
“She was back to basics up there (in Norway) I was cutting wood for a couple of hours, to get that core and shoulder strength.
“And then running through the snow, you only go 20 metres but you are totally shattered. Especially when it is up to your chest.”
Once he landed Down Under, he headed to Western Oz and found a local air-strip to do some hard yakka at.
“Then in the Kimberley it is just the red dirt up there. I ran down to the airport and did a few accelerations up and down the runaway.
“If you hear them coming in, you get the hell out of there. Whether it was a chopper or a fixed wing, you get the hell out of the way.”
The 28-year-old took part in a full session with the Sevens team and was one of the top performers in the 10×30 drill at the end. That’s 10 sprints of 100-metres with 30 second rest intervals.
“It all comes down to your fitness,” he remarked about staying in peak condition and the Sevens experience. “Your mind is more creative when you are not as bloody shagged.”
