Skosan happy to play second fiddle

The past four-and-a-half months have been a big mental battle for seasoned Lions wing Courtnall Skosan (left) after picking up a serious knee injury prior to the Super Rugby season.

Having fought his way back only to see team-mate Aphiwe Dyantyi taking over the No 11 jersey for both the Lions and the Springboks, Skosan is just happy to be in the frame again.

“Mentally it was the toughest thing for me, your mind has to be so powerful because every day is a challenge,” Skosan, who earned 12 Bok caps last year, said. “Some days you come in and it’s a good day, but on other days you are in pain and you can’t really do much,” the 26-year-old said.

Set to be named on the bench for this weekend’s Bulls clash, Skosan said his faith and his family support structures helped him through the tough times.

“My wife Semone had to drive me around, we had the little one in the car, out of the house at 6am, back at 12, so it was tough on her, so she basically had two babies to care for,” he said.

Skosan said while the Bulls are playing for pride, they want to get Ellis Park again.

“So they are going to come all guns blazing, we need to be up for it and it’s going to be a very physical contest,” he said.