The School of Hard Knocks - Episodes 4 & 5

Weve got the next two instalments of the popular and intriguing series of The School of Hard Knocks, which sees a group of mislead youths attempt to turn their lives around by getting into rugby.

With Scott Quinnell and Will Greenwood, both former Lions, as their guides, the young lads are in good hands and have already made progress in certain aspects of their game play, as well as off the field.

In Episode 4 we see mr popular himself, Ben, arrive at training with strapping on his hand, which we later find out is a broken thumb which leads to him leaving the group, and possibly not returning.

The boys are put through their paces in off field scenarios that include interview techniques, discussions about their futures, and they then get a special message from Tony Blair.

One-on-one tackling drills later on in the day reveal some weaknesses, but big Scott steps up to give them the basics needed to take the man down. The improvements are instant and by doing the basics right, the players gain much needed confidence.

Episode 5 brings with it some bad news, as a valuable member of the side gets arrested, and then another drops out of training due to his short fuse.

An anger management course helps the boys deal with some issues, and one of the guys turns out to be a possible star goal kicker. With little time left before their big match, it’s hard to say how they will fare. We’ll keep following the progress as it occurs though.