Mental battles in lockdown are ‘real’

Rudolph Jacobs

The psychological battles facing players during the coronavirus lockdown are real and should not be taken lightly, says exciting young Lions centre Manny Rass.

Selected ahead of Duncan Matthews and Wandisile Simelane, Rass made his debut against the Stormers in the Lions’ third game of the Super Rugby season, but the competiton was later stalled while they were on tour.

“It has been a real mental battle to be away from what I love and away from the field,” said the 22-year-old Rass, who played for the SA Schools team in 2016 and the SA U-20 side in 2018.

“But it has also been a time to focus on myself and where I maybe fall short in my game, and work on the skills I didn’t focus on that much during the season.”

Born in Somerset-West but schooled at Paarl Boys’ High, Rass broke into the Lions’ Currie Cup team last season.

He felt the enforced break from the game due to the coronavirus pandemic, had taught him a lot about himself.

“You need to be self-disciplined to get into a routine and get up in the morning and to train, and do your rehab and your cardio. That takes a lot of self control, and organisation,” he said.

“What helped me were the virtual team meetings where I spent some time with the other guys and talked about the sport we love.

“It was a battle though, and one you had to fight on your own, but it does make you head-strong.”

Now that he knows what Super Rugby is all about, Rass wants more, despite the current uncertainty over the future of the competition.

“It was a great privilege to make my debut with guys I looked up to when I was younger,” he said.

“It was a massive step-up from the Currie Cup, and a great platform to test your skills against the rest of the world... so it was sad when Super Rugby got postponed, just when I got the feel of everything.”