Approximately 7,000 fans gathered at LNER Community Stadium today (February 28th) as they were ready for a clash with Italy.
The training session followed last year's first event production, and the ground was sold out for the first time in its history.
Ahead of the day, head coach Steve Bourthwick said:
“The welcome we received at Lner Community Stadium is fantastic and we are excited to try it again. The talk of the area around York hosting the 2025 World Cup match is clear and I am sure it will be a great host city.”
“Players can't return to York and wait for everyone to see each other in an open training session,” added boys captain Malo Itje.
“Last time, the weather was unpredictable, but the atmosphere was incredible. It's been an important week of preparation, but it's great to share what we're doing with the public during our training sessions.”
The UK has three games in the Six Nations campaign, defeating both France and Scotland and losing to Ireland.
However, their success in the outcome led to complicated reviews from the fans, and their two victories came at one point each.
Deputy Captain Ellis Jenge spoke during a training session in York, and he told PA News Agency:
A Bristol Bears prop said, “It's difficult as a player to digest the fact that people were disappointed that they were just returning to the Calcutta Cup five years later.” He added: “We won the game, but people are still upset about it. To be honest, it blew my mind.”
As Azurli hopes to fix the 73-point thrashing at the hands of France, Genji continues to warn fans of complacent ahead of the Italian match.
“They beat Wales in Wales, they took some scalps, so I don't think they're a team that people think is a guaranteed victory anymore,” he said.
“It may be from the outside, but we definitely haven't prepared that way. For some reason, we can get a little nervous in the stakes of the game and prevent it from becoming as vast as we want.
“You can hit the clever box and fight inside and outside. That's our strength. You can adapt. Sometimes the game is ugly, and in the last three games, you don't do what fans want to watch every week, but it's Test Rugby.”
