Jacobson rested and ready to return
Luke Jacobson is targeting playing again in the second or third round of Super Rugby, but is determined not to rush things.
The Chiefs loose forward was at the launch for the new Super Rugby season in Auckland yesterday, eager to start playing again after being sent home from the World Cup in Japan, because of concussion.
Jacobson said he’s recovered well since that heartbreaking withdrawal from the tournament before it had even began.
‘‘I’ve been feeling real good,’’ Jacobson told Stuff. ‘‘I’ve been feeling good for a long time now.
‘‘The plan initially was to give my head a real good passage of time where it can fully recover, so the brain tissue can settle back down.
‘‘But I’ve done a full preseason with the Chiefs and I’ve been training hard, building up contact now. We made the plan on the other side of Christmas to aim to be back around round two, round three.
‘‘So I’ve given myself the best chance to recover if I can, so hopefully it doesn’t happen again. I could probably come back earlier if I wanted to, but thought it wasn’t the best thing to try and rush it.
‘‘I’ve been building up my contact, everything is going well with that and I’m looking to hopefully be available on round three.’’
Jacobson had three concussions over 13 months before the knock that forced him out of the World Cup.
He said his views of concussion had changed dramatically since before his first incident.
‘‘As of two years ago I probably didn’t know much about it because I hadn’t had one,’’ Jacobson said. ‘‘But now that I’ve had one, I understand what everyone else is going through and when they get them it’s not the nicest injury going around.
‘‘Obviously, you can’t play footy, but you’re also not feeling good doing normal life things.’’
Jacobson said he used his time after coming home from Japan to take a break from the game.
‘‘I spent a bit of time going on a few little holidays,’’ he said.
‘‘I don’t usually get that much time off, so I thought I’d make the most of it. So I went to Bali, down in Wanaka, Christchurch, I’ve been all over the show.
‘‘I’ve just tried to take my mind off footy in the meantime and as of December I was back in pre-season anyway, so back into training then. But I had a good break, so I could hit the ground running come December.’’
Although it was a bitter blow for Jacobson to miss out on the World Cup, he said he was still be able to bring himself to watch the
All Blacks matches during the tournament.
‘‘100 per cent, I can put that sort of thing aside,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve been training with those boys and you know what you’re working towards and I think I felt more a part of it from being in the team.
‘‘So I wasn’t able to drop that there and then. I supported the boys all of the way through, it was as disheartening for me to see them go out in the semifinals as it was for anyone else.
Meanwhile, Jacobson said new Chiefs coach Warren Gatland had freshened things up since arriving back from Wales.
‘‘He’s changed a few little things, but sprinkling it in as we go,’’ he said. ‘‘We’ve had shorter trainings, which from the players’ point of view is what we like.
‘‘Just hard and fast, he knows what he wants and he and the coaching group are working well together, to try to get the best out of the team and things are working quite efficiently.
‘‘Training has been enjoyable and there’s been a good emphasis on the culture of the team, spending time together and enjoying each other’s company.’’