Currie Cup 2020: How Covid stole the Christmas cheer

The festive season is often viewed as a time to relax and unwind, but it is actually a stressful time in one’s life, with Christmas bringing all sorts of different pressures.

If you are a husband it could involve being dragged to the mall to do gift-shopping and spend money you don’t really have… just for the receiver of said gifts to not need them or appreciate them.

But when it comes to our top rugby players this festive season, they, too, have experienced an altogether different kind of stress: playing Currie Cup rugby over Christmas and in a time of Covid.

The players at the Bulls for instance have to spend Christmas in isolation due to Covid protocols, with their game against the Lions (originally scheduled for this Saturday) postponed to the new year, while the Pumas players have been told they have to spend their Christmas in Nelspruit only.

Coach Jimmy Stonehouse revealed that while his players can spend this period with their immediate families, no other family members would be allowed to visit. Nelspruit would also be their mini bio-bubble.

This will be applicable for the next three weeks with the team’s last two matches scheduled to be played at home in Nelspruit on January 2 (Lions) and January 10 (Bulls).

Covid-affected players currently have to spend 16 days out of the action; 10 days in isolation and a further six days in a return-to-play programme, which will include having to undergo an electrocardiogram (ECG) test to monitor heart rate before resuming training.

Blood tests are also done, adding to the already stressful situation.

And spare a thought for the coaches, who not only have to field a competitive team each time they run out for a match, but also have to make sure the players and the squad are healthy and not in danger of infecting anyone they come into contact with.

In 2020, Christmas has most certainly not been a time to sit back and relax. There’s a lot that has been going on and for this country’s top rugby players and coaches the only thing to celebrate is the fact that rugby is still at least being played.

Rudolph Jacobs

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