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‘That one’s not moving,’ one of the other players tells him.

‘Course it will,’ he replies.

‘You’ll put your back out before the first warm-up,’ the other player calls back.

‘Maybe you would,’ he replies.

Jamie crouches, wraps his arms around the rock and begins to lift.

At first, nothing happens, but then it starts to shift.

His face tightens, and every muscle across his arms and shoulders bulges as he pulls it from the sand. It rises slowly, held against his chest while everyone starts shouting encouragement.

He gets fully upright and for a second he holds it, breathing through gritted teeth. Then he drops it, and everyone cheers.

‘Who can beat that lift?’ he asks, but no one takes the bait. ‘What about you, old man?’

We all realise he’s talking to Eddy. He’s drinking water and otherwise minding his own business. This is the first interaction between the two of them, besides a few tense looks while they were training.

The other lads go ‘ohhhh’ – sort of like being in school.

‘Go on,’ Jamie pushes him. ‘Show us what the King’s got left in him.’

Eddy screws the lid back onto his bottle, but instead of walking towards the rocks, Eddy walks towards me.

I pull a face, wondering what he’s going to do.

‘Mind if I borrow you?’ he asks.

‘Not at all,’ I reply.

It takes me by surprise when he picks me up. I actually squeak. I think he’s going for a Dirty Dancing-style lift, but my core isn’t nearly toned enough to hold myself up. Still, he makes easy work of holding me high above his head, before placing me back down on the ground.

The lads cheer his efforts – a few even wolf-whistle. Not Jamie though.

‘Are you saying she weighs more than the rock?’ Jamie asks, smirking a little, thinking he’s making Eddy look bad.

‘I didn’t say she did,’ Eddy points out.

‘I said who can beat that,’ Jamie replies. ‘And you picked up Brooke.’

‘Sorry, I thought you were challenging me to pick up something better, not heavier,’ Eddy says.

Oh, Jamie hates that.

‘All right, back to work,’ Tim Smith, their coach, commands.

As the boys get back to it, I head over to the drinks station, to grab something cold – I definitely need cooling down after that.

As I sit down on one of the towels, I notice Jamie approaching me.

‘Have you come to lift me too?’ I joke, trying to lighten the mood.

‘I’d never use you as a prop,’ he replies.

‘Isn’t that a position in rugby?’ I joke.

Jamie laughs.