I was fortunate enough this year to have been a part of Tawa Rugby’s amazing season and successful Jubilee cup campaign. I want to take this opportunity to reflect on the past season, and to offer a view of the season from the perspective of the team’s physiotherapist.

The thing that really stands out about Tawa, for me at least, can be summed up in one word. Attitude.

From the earliest pre-season training’s, we were getting players coming up to us and looking to sort out injuries that they’d picked up in the off-season, no matter how minor, letting us know about older injuries that might play up going forwards, and making sure that they were managing these properly.

Working as a physiotherapist in a sports environment is quite different than in clinic. Patients we see in clinic are usually coming to us after they’ve sustained an injury; and often these injuries will have been lingering for some time before they become a major issue. We’ll often look at a 2-3 week period off sports to allow for these injuries to heal. We often don’t have that same option when working with a team. A key player being out for 2-3 weeks can be devastating, and can mean the difference between a successful season and a disappointing one.

Recognising and sorting out minor injuries and small niggles before they become more serious is a key part of working with a team, but we’re only able to do that if the players are taking the initiative and letting us know about these things before they become an issue. This, again, comes back to attitude; the players stepping up and taking responsibility for their own fitness.

This permeated throughout the season. We lost some key players to more serious injuries fairly early on, and some of our younger players stepped up to the plate, and took the opportunity to prove themselves at a premier level.

From the key game against Norths to secure a spot in the Jubilee Cup, to the incredible run through the second round after dropping the first three games, the team stepped up every time they needed to.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Tawa this season. Everyone, from the players, to the coaches, to the support staff and club management, was fantastic to work with, and all personified the amazing attitude that formed the basis of Tawa’s Jubilee Cup winning season.

To Tawa; Thank you for the fantastic season, and I’m confident that there will be many more yet to come.