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'Curry nearly had a panic attack. He thought they were running out of air'

The England players were stuck for 90 minutes in the hotel elevator.

England winger Jack Nowell has shed light on how exactly his fellow international teammates got stuck in an elevator in a London hotel for nearly an hour and half last week.

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Chelsea Fire Brigade had to be called put after the players found themselves stuck for 90 minutes in a lift at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel and Spa after going out for food.

The interior of the elevator got so hot that the players were forced to strip down to their underwear for a significant proportion of their unexpected incarceration. Courtney Lawes, Manu Tuilagi, Joe Marchant, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Will Stuart, Bevan Rodd and Tom Curry were among those that found themselves in the sticky situation, which ultimately saw the players forced to shed their clothes in a bid not to overheat.

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Jack Nowell, Ryan & Max on England Camp, Six Nations and Post Match Beers & Feeds | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 23

Jack Nowell joins us this week to give us an insight into England camp pre and post the Guinness Six Nations game against Wales. He tells Max and Ryan what’s changed in camp since he was last involved and how the squad is prepping for their next game against Ireland. We also hear about the best post-match feeds around the rugby world, how some of the England squad recently got trapped in a lift and just how much the guys enjoy a post-match beer in the dressing room.

Video Spacer

Jack Nowell, Ryan & Max on England Camp, Six Nations and Post Match Beers & Feeds | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 23

Jack Nowell joins us this week to give us an insight into England camp pre and post the Guinness Six Nations game against Wales. He tells Max and Ryan what’s changed in camp since he was last involved and how the squad is prepping for their next game against Ireland. We also hear about the best post-match feeds around the rugby world, how some of the England squad recently got trapped in a lift and just how much the guys enjoy a post-match beer in the dressing room.

“The boy got stuck in a lift in Chelsea Harbour last week, that was brutal,” Nowell told the RugbyPass Offload Podcast.  “Nine of them were stuck in the lift. We’d just gone out for food or something and we’d got back quite late.

“They weren’t nine of the small boys, they were nine pretty big lads. You’ve got Manu in there, Courtney, Dickie, Curry, Will Stuart and they were under the weight [elevator maximum lifting capacity], they said.

Bristol Bears prop Max Lahiff interjected: “They should have known they messed up. It’s not Noah’s Ark. It’s an elevator.”

“They got stuck in there and they were in there for about an hour and a half in the end.

“They said it was like a sauna in there. It was like 90 degrees. And they couldn’t sit down either.

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“They were like sardines stood up. Tom Curry nearly had a panic attack. It thought it was a vacuum or something. He thought they were going to run out of air.

“They were absolutely sweating in there. You saw the pictures. They were dripping with sweat.

“They managed to prise one of the doors open a little bit and stick one of the boys’ flip flops in there, so they had a bit of a breeze come in.

“They called reception but the reception guy didn’t want to ring the firefighters, because it cost the hotel something. He said ‘I’ll just ring the engineer and get him out’. Remember, it’s like 10 pm at night, so the engineers probably tucked up in bed. So in the end they rang the SOS on Manu’s phone.

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“They rang the police and who then rang the England security guy, who then rang the firefighters and stuff.

Despite the picture which would make you think they were on the way to the swimming, they had actually stripped off simply due to the heat. The player visited the Chelsea Fire Station the following day to offer their thanks and give them a jersey.

The incident evoked memories of a similar drama with Sale Sharks in 2016. Brian Mujati, Halani ‘Aulika, Mike Phillips and Johnny Leota were among a number of Sharks players that became stuck in a hotel lift, albeit their combined weight of 755kg was 120kg over the maximum limit on that occasion.

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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