Prolonged break ‘taking toll on players’

Yes, they have had to push the “reset” button but the unbearable thought of no rugby at all this year, has certainly crossed players’ minds, according to nippy Lions scrumhalf Dillon Smit (above).

With future competitions still covered in a blanket of uncertainty and a return to full training put on hold, Smit said it was starting to take it’s toll on the players and they were starting to feel it.

“Because it has been over three months all of us have set new goals for the season,” said the 27-year-old, who has 26 Lions Super Rugby caps.

“The fact is we still didn’t know what the model would be – a Currie Cup or a revised Super Rugby concept, or worse still, any rugby at all,” he said.

Smit said they basically had to just look forward to what might lie ahead in the future,” he added.

“So it’s key for us as players to just remain focused and keep our heads clear for the day when we are allowed to start again.” Smit, who had previously turned out for the Border Bulldogs and the Leopards, said the lockdown had been a tough period, coupled with the fact that Super Rugby was stopped so suddenly.

“For some teams like ourselves it was probably even tougher because we didn’t enjoy the best of starts, but we started feeling we were building some kind of momentum,”

Smit admitted the Lions were a fairly new outfit to start off with.

“It probably would have taken us five or more games to really start gelling as a unit, but I still think it was definitely busy starting to happen for us.

“For us as a team it was certainly taxing and nobody really expected the lockdown to have lasted as long as it has,” said Smit.

Smit added how it remained important to literally take every day as it comes, and create time to train due to the fact they are still basically training on their own.

“We are not allowed to train in large groups yet, so we are forced to just stick to our own individual training programmes.”