They soon realised, however, that the visiting Marines would be both firm and fair, sending them all for a warm up jog to begin the days' activities. Once all the students were assembled on the Saints' training pitches, the real work began.
The students were then asked to assemble into teams of three and several races were put on between the teams, leading to everyone being very out of breath and sore at the end! After the final race, the winners were asked to think of a forfeit for the losing team - however, true to the Royal Marines' motto of 'one in all in', all of the students had to do the punishment: including the winning team!
After the intensive exercise of the morning, it was time to refuel. Back in the marquee, the students were walked through cooking a simple, healthy, chicken dish, before splitting off into pairs and preparing the meal for themselves. All of the students enjoyed the opportunity to prepare, cook, and eat a meal for themselves, and, in many cases, were impressed with the quality of their own cooking.
Chelsea and Jess, from Worcester Warriors said: "I was nervous about doing it when I first heard about it. I thought it was challenging but very good. PT was the best part for us.
"I would definitely do it again. I feel healthy after it and it looks like a good career path."
Worcester student Robin said that he "didn't know anything about it but I really enjoyed it. It was challenging. I loved the cooking part and have learnt one major thing: always eat more than you train.'
"This has been a really inspirational day for the students," Hitz Officer Matt Goode added. "Learning that they can do something that they've never expected. It was an eye opener for us as staff to see how easy the Marines made it for the students to interact with them."
The award winning HITZ programme tackles some of the greatest challenges facing young people today - unemployment, crime and disillusionment. Delivered nationally by Premiership Rugby and supported by national partners Barclays, Comic Relief, Land Rover and Wooden Spoon, HITZ uses rugby to increase young people’s resilience, self-reliance and confidence. It gives them the skills to get back into education, vocational training, apprenticeships and employment.
To become involved in HITZ Northampton email project officer Matt Goode by CLICKING HERE. You can also follow HITZ Northampton on Facebook and Twitter.
