Jon Wilkin column

By Jon Wilkin
St Helens and England forward

After last weekend, I have never appreciated home matches more.

Six of the Saints players played for England against France on Friday and then again against Huddersfield on Sunday. It was something we all wanted to do but it was pretty tough on the old legs.

I suppose the benefit of playing again so soon means that you do not actually get the chance for your knocks to blossom into bruises.

In all honesty I enjoyed the weekend and it is always good to push your body so you know how it will react under pressure, as you never know when you will be required to play a game while tired.

The hardest thing about the weekend was the impact which travelling has on your energy levels.

I do not understand how sitting on a bus and a plane for several hours takes such a toll on you.

Sitting beside James Graham on a plane is not very comfortable

If anything, sitting down for a few hours should be a relaxing experience but when a group of 20 rugby players board a plane you can guarantee that a comfortable trip is not on the cards.

You pray that you do not end up sitting between James Graham and Sam Burgess, who quickly fill any excess space in the area around you and the majority of the cabin.

You actually do not want to fall asleep on the plane either as that can have all sorts of embarrassing consequences. You often wake up with something stuck into your yawning mouth or a pile of something on your head.

For me, travelling is the most frustrating thing to do building up to a game. It really makes you respect what the Catalans team do every other week in Super League.

I think that it must be a disadvantage travelling long distances like Harlequins and Catalans do, but on the flip side their home games are advantageous - they always play teams at home who have travelled a long distance and are not used to doing so.

I suppose it just balances itself out over the course of the year.

It always seems as though I get delayed coming back from France. There have been fire brigade strikes, excess water on the runway, too many bags on the plane, not enough bags on the plane or missing passengers - something always goes wrong.

On our return from Toulouse following the Test match we got delayed in France because of an unclaimed bag and then again at Gatwick before we returned to Manchester.

But it is all good practice especially for anybody who is fortunate enough to go and play in the World Cup with England.

The St Helens players will not have much time for sightseeing in London

A lot of the lads filled their time by sitting around drinking tea while a small but very dedicated bunch of lads play poker for just about every second of the trip.

I can play cards for a short while but it seems snap is no longer a fashionable card game anymore.

Surprisingly, when I woke up on Sunday my body felt ready to play again, and after a long warm-up I was so pleased we managed to overcome Huddersfield in what could have been a very tricky fixture.

I thought we played very well for some of the match but it was a game punctuated with errors and lacked any rhythm.

This week gives us a chance to fester on a bus down to London for an afternoon to play Harlequins.

They are a very solid team who having been posing lots of sides a threat, especially at home.

We are very motivated to perform as always and we will look to play well for longer periods of the game this week.