All Stars hard at work ahead of Hull City friendly

IN KINGSTON UPON HULL, UK

Imagine having to endure temperatures of between zero and five degrees celsius in a foreign country amid news reports that just a few kilometres off your hotel, a woman has died of head injuries after debris fell on her on the streets due to strong winds.

Now imagine having to stand wet and frozen outside in the open field, jumping and running against strong winds travelling at 151km/h, the snow and rain brought about by Storm Doris.

That is the treatment that greeted the SportPesa All Stars on Thursday evening when they held their first training session at the Bishop Burton College in Yorkshire, England.

It was a rousing and almost painful culture shock the players had to contend with throughout the two-hour training period, and it gave them a good glimpse of what to expect when they take on English Premier League side Hull City Tigers on Monday evening at the KCOM Stadium in Hull.

Tusker captain James Situma admitted afterwards that it was indeed the most difficult training session of his life.

“I am in pain. I know my toes are inside my shoes but can’t feel my toes at all. Now I understand why they have winter breaks in Germany. It must be really difficult to play in such conditions.

“It’s good we have a few more days before we play against Hull City so hopefully we will have become used to the weather before the game,” he said.

Having made the five-hour bus trip from Heathrow AirPort in London to East Yorkshire County on Wednesday night, players rested on Thursday morning, and trained at Bishop Burton Academy in the afternoon.

Posta Rangers duo of Patrick Matasi and Geoffrey Kataka joined the team in Hull on Thursday night, and attended training on Friday.