Even with a new normal I want to be a winner at every level

STUART McINALLY INTERVIEW

THE trials and tribulations of lockdown have impacted on the lives of those who chose sport as a profession but, with fresh challenges on the horizon, the focus now is on new targets.

Edinburgh captain Stuart McInally wants to lead the capital men into the Pro14 play-offs by picking up at least one point from back-to-back league fixtures with Glasgow Warriors.

And he wants to ensure he has a place in the Scotland squad for their five international matches that are now being inked into diaries for the autumn.

Thrilled just to be back in training after being furloughed, McInally, like so many of us, is having to get used to the new normal.

Team meetings are held on the concourse at BT Murrayfield with the players sitting on the steps.

The video analyst has set up his screen at ground level outside in a darkened area. An outside gym has been assembled and players have to shower at home rather than inside the stadium after training.

‘Circumstances are different but it is good to be back and that we have the date of August 22, when we first play Glasgow Warriors, to give us focus,’ said McInally.

‘It was a funny experience walking in on day one. Everyone was having a wee look at each other but, on the whole, the boys have come back in really good shape.

‘Some boys haven’t been able to put on loads of muscle because they’ve not had access to gym equipment and they can’t use public gyms. They have generally been doing what they can.

‘Some have come in a little bit light because they have lost a bit of muscle mass, but those ones tend to be in really good running shape because they’ve spent the whole time doing that.

‘We get worked really hard at Edinburgh and you know that if you come back in bad shape then you’ll just get time on a Watt bike or a rowing machine for four weeks. For a lot of boys, the fear of that has kept them in good shape.

‘The last couple of weeks have been good, just getting the ball back in our hands and being able to do some lineout work this week. No live scrums or anything yet, but I would imagine that will come back.

‘It feels like a pre-season, but we have to work on everything in a much more compact period of time ahead of the big games with Glasgow. As it gets closer to that game, things will start to get back to normal.’

The hooker, who went public with how being Scotland captain during the World Cup had affected his mental health, admitted he had a bit of a dip midway through lockdown but was now looking forward to an exciting time in his career, for both club and country.

‘The thing I struggled with — and a lot of the boys struggled with — during lockdown was the fact that you were training but you didn’t know what date you were training towards and whether there would be any rugby this year,’ he said.

‘I found it okay for the first five or six weeks of the lockdown, but after that I hit a bit of a lull. I think it was when England were coming out of lockdown and we weren’t.

‘Knowing you could pick up the phone to anyone at the club or the national team was good. A lot of the boys kept in touch with each other.

‘I spoke to Fraser Brown and a lot of the Edinburgh boys as well about how their lockdowns had been and it was comforting to know everyone was going through the same thing — enjoying it at the start, having a bit of a lull, and then having that light at the end of the tunnel.

‘Everyone had a bit of a lull where they were a bit sick and tired of the routine, but now we are buzzing.

‘It definitely made us appreciate the job, being able to play rugby for a living. When that is suddenly taken away, you find yourself stuck not playing rugby. I am sure some guys would have felt a bit lost at times.

‘It has certainly given me the motivation to use this period to get my niggles right, work a bit harder and come back in really good shape and try to have a good year.’

Looking ahead to the international scene, McInally believes having a home game against Georgia a week ahead of the delayed Six Nations match against Wales on October 31, rather than going into that match cold, is a major boost.

‘That’s going to be an exciting game,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t describe it as a warm-up game because that would be doing Georgia a bit of a discredit. They are an excellent team, I played against them quite recently.

‘It will be good to not have Wales as our first game because that is such an important game for us.

‘It looks like an extremely busy calendar, with Georgia then Wales, a week off and then the tournament where I think we play France, Japan and Italy.

‘Whenever we play, it would be a good thing if supporters could come in as well.’