WE'LL be training with rugby league club Widnes Vikings next week and I don't think the idea is quite as strange as it might seem!

The opportunity has come about because of our chair-man's links with the Vikings and, having spoken to their head coach Steve McCormack, I'm looking forward to it.

I can assure worried supporters we won't actually be playing rugby.

You won't see Ben Davies pick the ball up, run over the line and dive into the net for a try!

Steve McCormack is a young, enthusiastic coach and we're both looking for ways to improve our teams.

There are obvious crossovers between the two sports - the physical element means both sets of players have to be at the peak of fitness.

But there are other areas where the training differs and it will be interesting to see how that benefits both parties.

Maybe the rugby players will enjoy the agility work we do, while the detailed movement work involved in rugby could add a new dimension to our training.

There's been a lot of controversy about diving in the national press recently - I'm talking about in football, not rugby league! - and I have to say it's a form of cheating that frustrates me.

Some people call it cheating, some call it gamesmanship - it depends what side of the referee's whistle you're on.

It's difficult to work out the best way to punish players who dive in an attempt to win penalties or free-kicks, or to get their opponents booked.

That is because nothing in football is ever black and white and sometimes people dive because of the fear of getting kicked.

Sometimes that fear doesn't materialise and they're made to look stupid.

What referees have to look out for is when diving is done in a more calculated way - and that isn't always easy to detect.