Going flat out is all in a day's work for physiotherapists at the Tens

Two 12-hour days with barely a break, 24 teams, 360 players, over 700 rolls of rigid strapping tape, several bottles of rubbing alcohol and hundreds of yards of bandage.

Sometimes it seems there's more action in the physiotherapists' tent at a rugby tournament than there is on the pitch, as a visit to the Tens this week revealed.

The tent is part hospital triage, part bandage factory, part smash repair kit, part muscle motivation - where the therapy given out is sometimes more than manual. The days are long and punishing.

'At the Tens we will probably see almost all of the 360 players at some point - even if only for a rub down - and also some of the referees,' said David Bayldon, emergency medical team director and physiotherapy manager at the Rugby Tens Tent.

'Some have greater needs than others, and for some of the university age lads who've never been to Hong Kong or travelled overseas much before, in many respects, we're a point of contact for support. A shoulder to lean on while we lean on their shoulders, you could say.

'The main role we serve is as a conduit between coach and player. If a player is injured and not fit to play again, it's really up to us to quickly make an assessment of his situation and notify the coach. Most often, players don't realise how bad their injuries are. They're here to play and win and the adrenalin kicks in, masking their pain.'