Stander: The sheep kept on running at me,

CJ Stander jumped at the opportunity STANDER’S training methods during lockdown were certainly different. Given the chance to return home to

South Africa for a prolonged spell, for Stander his recently jumped at the daughter opportunity Everli born to spend time with his parents.

Going back to his roots on the family farm in George provided ample time for a different kind of hard work than Stander has been used to since he moved to Limerick in 2012.

The 30-year-old has never been afraid to roll up his sleeves, and for all that the daily arduous labour on the farm ensured he kept in shape, Stander knew he also had to work on his skills.

It was then that a rather bizarre situation presented itself.

Kitted out in a Munster T-shirt, Stander (below) posted an Instagram video of himself dodging sheep with a rugby ball in his hands.

As he was quick to point out on the social media post, which went viral, no animals were harmed went viral, during no animals the filming of his unusual training session.

“I have a younger brother who has a bit of gym equipment,” Stander explains. “He is a big man. I tried to work with him but realised that just working on the farm would probably be the best for me; just to get that general movement.

“The sheep surprised me. I was doing runs and my brother is a bit of a lunatic so I just turned back after 50 metres and someone just smacked me from behind and I thought it was him. I got up and was ready for a proper old-school fight, bare knuckle.

“It was this sheep standing there. I was a bit surprised He just I was kept a bit on surprised. coming. I myself up and my rugby balls to run away and saw that he kept on coming. I actually enjoyed it.

“A lot of people say that I don’t have footwork, so it was an opportunity to show myself that I can get out of the way of danger.” Stander smiles as he delivers that last line, as he is well aware of some of the criticism that is often aimed at him from certain quarters. As soon as the video was shared far and wide, his phone was soon hopping for a different reason.

“I got a few calls from people afterwards that told me that contract-wise, if something (bad) happened (to me) I would be in trouble,” Stander says.

“I didn’t want to get too deep into that. I didn’t share any more videos, but I went at it a few times. If you have time and a random sheep attacking, you might as well enjoy it!”

The time back home was clearly well spent, as Stander looks extremely fit at the moment, having shedded a few kilos for the long season ahead.

“I made the decision to go back,” he reflects. “I felt that being close to my family was the most important thing. If something would have happened