‘And then, after he told him all about the way we were going to play, and how we’re going to go into the Test with the tall forward line, he told their coach he better go out and find some tall defenders …’
Specky and Dicky were standing in Bobby’s room telling him, Grub and Rick what they had overheard.
‘Can you flamin’ believe it, mate?’ asked Rick angrily, turning to Grub. ‘We accept him as part of the team, treat him like one of us, and he turns around and stabs us in the back, just like that.’
And Specky had never seen Bobby so upset. ‘We stayed up all night planning for this next Test, and now this traitor has ruined all our good work. We might as well e-mail them our game plan and be done with it,’ he said.
Grub looked serious, but not stressed. ‘Boys,’ he said, turning to Specky and Dicky. ‘Rick, Bobby and I are going to have a chat about things here in private for a bit. I’d really prefer it if you didn’t share any of this with the rest of the team for now. We’ll let you know how we’re going to deal with this, but for now nothing changes. Remember this is between us, okay?’
Specky and Dicky nodded.
‘And, boys,’ added Grub. ‘Be sure of one thing – Brother O’Donnell’s time will come. His time will come.’
The following morning the Australian team took advantage of Ballyglenn’s vast fields and hiking tracks and Grub set them a light training session. Specky watched his coach closely, but there was no change in his behaviour. In fact, Grub spent most of the training drill in deep conversation with Brother O’Donnell.
‘What do ya reckon Grub’s up to, Speck?’ puffed Dicky, as they jogged into position for their last drill. ‘He looks like he’s sucking up to that traitor more than ever.’
‘Dunno, Dicky,’ answered Specky. ‘But we’ll just have to trust him, I s’pose. Grub’s on to it, mate. I’m sure he’s got something up his sleeve. But we’d better keep training. If you’re going to be our secret weapon up forward, you better be able to kick straight.’
At the end of training, Grub gathered the players around him.
‘Nice work, boys,’ he said. ‘Really sharp. Skills are better, we’re kicking the ball better and there’s a great spirit among you all. Now, I know you’ve got some free time this afternoon, but I just wanted to have a word with you all straight after lunch.’
‘Will you need me there, Jay?’ asked Brother O’Donnell. ‘I see this meeting isn’t on our schedule.’
‘Nah, you relax,’ said Grub. ‘You’ve done more than enough already, and I know that you and Bobby have an early afternoon tee-off time at the golf club. We’re just going to show the footage of the first Test again to reinforce how we’ll turn the result around.’
After lunch everyone gathered in a boardroom on the first floor of the castle. Grub and Rick stood at the front of the room and waited patiently as the team settled into their seats.
‘Boys, competing in sport challenges us in all sorts of ways,’ Grub said, pacing around the room. ‘You need to be able to react quickly and cleverly to ensure that you stay one step ahead of the pack. Today we find ourselves confronted with one such challenge, and depending on how you choose to react to this challenge, we can either turn it into a positive or let it bring us down.’
Specky took a deep breath. He knew how everyone would react when they heard the news. It had been tough keeping it from his teammates for twenty-four hours.
‘It has come to our attention that Brother O’Donnell is not who we thought he was,’ Grub added. He stopped pacing and filled the team in about Brother O’Donnell’s two-timing.
‘I can’t believe this!’
‘Rotten cheat!’
‘He can’t get away with this!’
‘Okay, okay!’ Grub said, holding up his hand for silence. ‘I can understand your frustration and disappointment. But I want you all to think very seriously about how you will cope with this information. Will you let it decide the result of tomorrow’s game before a ball has even been kicked?’
‘But, Grub,’ said Skull. ‘We’re stuffed! They know exactly how we’re going to line up and what our tactics are for the big game.’
‘Well, Morgan,’ said Grub. ‘We’ve got just under a day to do something about that.’