Damian Willemse’s "Why": From Somerset West to the World Stage | Lekker Rugby Pod

This is the Lekker Rugby Pod, only on Megaphone Rugby. Welcome Lekker Rugby Pod viewers to the continuing series of Side by Side. And we have a man on today that I have wanted to talk to for a very long time. You know him and I know him as Damien Willemsa, Gaza, the clutch in the Stormer's car, the fashionista. He's got the scarves, the specs, the shades, the puffs, the long shorts and the short longs.

He even has a three-piece suit sometimes. He knows where he's from. He's got roots and strands, Somerset West, Paul Ruiz, and he's the youngest Rugby World Cup two-time winner. He plays as a fullback, a flyoff, a center, a fulloff, a flyback. He can play any position in the back line.

He cleans up beaches, he builds back forests, and he runs for the oceans. How's it? Gaza, how are you doing? Hello, Harry. Hello, everyone.

Hello to all the listeners and viewers. Thank you for having me. It's a great honor to be on here today. And yeah, just chatted with you. So thanks for having me.

Yeah, we couldn't get Andre Hugo Fenter. So we had to go with you, Damien. Sorry. He's big time. Thanks for having me.

Appreciate it, man. We were thinking about how to present players to the world in this sort of series of how to get inside. And we liked the idea of pairing you up. And we've gone with coaches. We obviously had guys like Brock Harris, but today we're having um the head physio at the stormers been that for seven years probably western province before that co-owner of uh nailer and croix with uh the former buck physio rind nailer since 2010 um and inger croix is our side-by-side guest today because we love the idea of thinking about how that lonely run from touchline into the field of play to attend to a player who's stricken who's broken who's sore or maybe just needs a rest uh what that whole that whole dialogue goes and how that how that goes so welcome inga croix how you doing hi harry thank you so much for having me um it's a real honor to be here with you and to be chatting with you and to be sitting next to this great legend um you've just rambled on about his credentials so those are incredible and i'm so used to being behind the scenes so i will try my best to keep you well informed let's put it that way that's what we love though we love the people behind the scenes coming out from under uh obviously uh damien's been in the spotlight he and i both shared a dream to be on gq his dream came true man muscle fitness same thing um no but inge i'll start with you you know when i was a player we had a guy come on to the field when we were hurt his name was muf fun and all he did was like smash on the plate the place that was hurting does it hurt now does it hurt worse does it hurt more um you know we didn't want to see him now you're bringing a bag on you've got diagnostic diagnostic tools you know each other you're probably an amateur psychologist talk to me about that someone's down in the field you run on what are you taking and what are you looking for so obviously we have our own field bag and i think we're well equipped with strappings scissors tape pickle juice for the cramps we know we're not sure about the research but we go with that as well.

I think the most important thing when we get there is knowing the player and not just going what's wrong. Sometimes you have to give them some time, oh to my frustration some of the times, but you wait, give them a moment, let them breathe and then you can actually get to what's wrong. We try and assess that as quickly as we can because you've seen some refs, I mean the other day um we were strapping and the line art was already happening. So you have to try and be as as quick and as accurate with the diagnosis, so we can give comms to the coaches immediately. Is it a red call?

Is it an orange call? Is it a green call? So we know this player can go, or we're keeping an eye on him, or it's a definite no. But all of this is in the space of one minute, actually. Yeah, and it's noisy.

There's things going on around you. Damon, obviously, you've had those occasions to talk to a physio. How hard is it? I mean, you want to get back in the game, right? You just want to get back in there.

but you have to tell the truth and you have to talk to them how does that go for you yeah i think as inger said it's all about you know firstly like just giving a moment um and then obviously assessing it and you know just be as honest as possible sometimes obviously the adrenaline is still pumping and you feel like you can go but sometimes you know you just need to do the right thing um let the experts um you know put their their brains to it and you know herself and the doctor, Matt State doctor, will make the final call. But as he said, you know, it is that room for decision, you know, that we have to make. But, yeah, most of the times, I mean, for us as players, we want to soldier on. But that's why we've got smart people like them in the room to help us. And, yeah, Inge and Doc, you know, they're great people and we've come a long way.

So, you know, we've got a relationship. She will tell me straight, guys. I don't think it's fine for you to continue. let's pull you from this one or gas okay it's fine you can go so yeah yeah that's that's pretty much how we do it yeah knowing like knowing who's who and what that means for some one person who says oh it's a bit of a scratch it's hurting me it could be they're dying another person who says uh i'm i'm dead and it's it's you know it's a surface wound how do you get to that i mean i was around you in pe and i watched that the players would come to you like they inger they they trust you and this is a position of trust no you have to be able to win their trust so they can really level yeah and i think that's the main thing and within our medical team our physios and doctors i think the most important thing is that we've created really trusting relationships with the players um and remember we we have to they have to trust us to get them back onto the field as well so it's a two-way it's really a two-way relationship and without that trust i don't think that we could be doing as well as we are doing. I mean, remember if Garza comes to me, he's a bit stiff, he's hamstring sore, he's lower back stiff, what do I do?

Sorry, does he continue training? How much of that information do we actually then also kind of go to the coaches with? And we decide together when it's important to know that we're in trouble or when it's not. But it takes time and it doesn't just happen off the bat, but I've been so fortunate enough that, I mean, I think having been within the system for this long, not only working with the seniors since 2019, but getting to know each other better so that we know they can come to us in confidence and know that they're going to be looked after and not thrown under the bus. Inga, how do you keep people at peak?

I know not just about reacting to injury and rehabbing, you also have to talk about prevention of injury. there's a big difference between teams that are racked by injury lists uh soft tissue injury year after year and and teams that aren't um you've obviously gone uct honors and then a graduate degree from a limerick college how does that work you know like how do you get a team to be at peak fitness and keep it instead of having these valleys and troughs well thank goodness we have a team of physios as well as our sncs we can't do without the collective and we go with strength and we do our screenings so we're doing preventative work throughout the season these guys hate us but they've got a program they have to do it we're on their cases have you done your mobility have you done your specific prehab and that's specifically individualized to the specific player based on what their risks were based on what their um recommendations are and that goes from pre-season through into our season into post-season um so they can come back knowing what the work cons are guys when i watch you play um you're one of those guys that every time you are talking to the physio and you've got something that you have to work on i always know the next play you're going to score or do something wonderful uh so i'm not i'm not accusing ingo of being a coach here but something's going on in interaction no yeah i mean you you definitely have a good eye mate um but yeah for me it's like i love to just go to the side because i'm at fullback to get information uh take information ask ingo what other coach is saying is there any messages um so i feel like that's like the little percenter or you know half percenter that i could get of that information okay what are we saying what's the comms there how's everyone doing or you know um and that's something that i feel like then i can translate from the back or from the side to the team and as Inga said it's a collective thing so it's not just physio or player from the back or the coaches from the top it's all of us together making a plan or coming up with something and maybe me giving her comms to give to the coaches so yeah I think it's a collective effort and yeah I just whenever I can go to the touch I'll chat to Inga she has some slow mag there you know it's a lot of running in the backfield day so um yeah as i think you said as well you know it's a it's a collective thing and i also think i must admit and give her some some credit where it's due she's um obviously one of the only females um within the male environment so she also provides a real safe space for a lot of us so yeah just to go over to her you know just knowing that ingall will be like hey are you okay or whatever just checking with you so that's really important as you said it's just like low-key uh you know a psychologist yeah it's tricky um like i never wanted to ever show any fear or uh you know i wouldn't want to cry in front of a guy but there's something different you can actually um come clean a little bit and share your feelings and sometimes you're a posture point sometimes you're about to break and you need someone to give you a bit of a pat on the shoulder and say let's go again um guys that you play at 10 12 15 sometimes a controversy at wing you know those are all different um those are all different training there's all different physical demands i mean you see the game very differently um from first receiver versus at the back um and obviously it you know if you the first ruck setting center inside center it a whole different thing as well because you having contact every time How do you train and adjust for all that Or do you just have the same regimen of fitness no matter what? No, so it really does change because, as you said, the demands of each position is different and it requires a different skill set. And that skill set needs to be firstly, obviously, trained and practiced. you need to understand it whether that's you know by looking at footage walkthroughs and then you're obviously making connections with whoever you're going to play with if I play with Ruan now and I'm on wing you know I can I can obviously you know for me it's much easier because I've played close to like 60 games with 70 games with Ruan as a center partnership so yeah it's also like combinations but again I think obviously where the modern game's going and I've said it in previous interviews as well it's going to be expected and you i think you're going to start seeing more um versatile and utility players coming through um and yeah as i said it's something that i really enjoy uh especially this season uh just to add to my craft and my and my and my skill set so whenever i need to be called on uh to play a different role for the team um i know i'm confident in my skill set and that I've trained it and I've played there.

And yeah, as I said, it's just with the modern games going. So, you know, for me to just like stay one up, it's really important. And it's something that I've really enjoyed doing. Yeah, so you enjoy that. Some people like to have a specialist position and learn and dig in.

When you see the game, is it like a map to you? Is it like a video game? I mean, when you look at it from 15 versus from 12, for example, like how different is it for you for your eyes? For me, I normally just look at triggers, man. As I said, I'll do my prep based on obviously footage and then just looking at individual triggers or team triggers.

And then, yeah, it's more for me like looking at where is my, where can I apply myself and what's my point of difference? When I'm at 12, obviously, you know, i'm gonna have to be much better in close close contact skills uh west fullback it's a lot more problem solving and you know thinking staying one phase ahead sometimes even two phases ahead when there's a kick anticipating where the next kick is going to be or what what that 10 is going to you know try and try and do um so yeah it's obviously it's two different positions two different um point of views you know from from fullback to to center um but yeah i think for me it's i try and keep it as simple as possible but um i really feel like my analysis is where i do most of my work so when i do come to the game you know i obviously try and implement what i've seen throughout the week and what i've trained um but yeah then also having that that insurance or assurance that you know if anything changes i can adapt and i can adapt quickly within nanoseconds which is impressive and you have to pick the right line as well going on the field uh you can get marooned if you're in the wrong spot you know and you cannot go across play tell me the truth have you ever gotten hurt yourself injured on the way into the field uh pull up a hand string no thank goodness not oh let me teach wood that i know that it's not gonna happen and i know colleagues so i've slipped or pulled a calf um but i've at least been fortunate enough not to um not to have that happen to you at all thank goodness um yeah guys i've had some really uh memorable uh situations uh watching you play one was i was in the start of france and uh the quarter final the famous quarter final uh i got one of my all-time favorite selfies uh with you you were were kind enough to come to the barrier and picture of me with all these French guys crying. Well, it was interesting because during that match, I was the only one green and gold, but one other guy, one kind of down low, he and I, in the whole section. And they were singing, you know how deafening it was, and they were sure of it. And I just kept saying, we're going to knock you out, we're going to knock you out.

I was standing on my chair, just shouting it to make myself believe it. And then the moment happens where you call the scrum. and for some reason everyone around me all the french people were like is it permissible is it allowed they were asking me like as if i was making a rule and i said of course if philipser says it's good it's good and i had and i had no flipping idea so tell me the truth was that something that you already had in your locker in your head you knew what to do or was it just a moment like spur of the moment decision to say scrum yeah so that was basically like uh it was a team coaches, yeah, they came up with that plan. So, yeah, I was fortunate enough to be in that position to call the play. It could have been anyone.

It could have been one of the wingers. It could have been Pollard or Marnie if they were in the backfield. But, yeah, the most important thing was obviously for me managing the forwards load, making sure they're fresh, checking what time in the clock it was, because if I can remember it clearly, they went from a scrum and went wide and just kicked the ball and, you know, we didn't put in any pressure. So I knew that the forwards were still fresh and, yeah, made the call because, yeah, I think the timing of the game was also going to be crucial. So, yeah, it was obviously for me, if I made the call and it didn't come off, I think everyone inside Africa would have probably crucified me.

But yeah, again, it was a team and the coaches plan for it to do it. And everyone bought into it. And as I said, for me, it was just really important to really call it and nail it at the right moment. And yeah, the rest of the boys backed me up. So cool.

Thanks. Thanks. Thanks, everyone involved. I wanted to ask you something quickly. We spoke to Kennedy the other day about transitions and players scanning.

And something I picked up when you were talking just now, you're aware of what the forwards are, we don't have to be managed and where the gaps are. And he mentioned something specifically that measure eye movements and some of the more normal players, let's call it that, scan maybe once or twice. A guy like Valila Rue scans six times in the same time span as a normal player. How would you see you doing in that sense? Because it sounds to me like you're pretty much one of those hyper scanners, let's call it that.

Yeah, scanning is really important. I think it's probably the most underrated skill on attack. Because always you see, like, this guy's throwing crazy passes, Marnie kicking a no-look cross kick. But, like, he scanned that space, like, three phases ahead. And he's already spotted, like, the wing not being in place.

So that is probably – that's one thing I must say. Like, it's something that even in our team and with Dave, it's how you look for opportunities. and you know making sure as i said stay in one phase two phase ahead so if something's not working you know exactly where you can go back to or what what other space you want to take um but i said that's that's the thing it also comes with with playing um you get more confident and um yeah you just start trusting the not start but you know you start trusting the people around you if they say they want the ball early because you've scanned and seen space you're giving you the ball and then you can apply yourself because with the pictures you've painted like one two three four five six you know exactly what move you're going to do or what step you're going to take or if you're going to go for a kick so that's really important i mean that as i said it's it is it is it is crucial especially at this level because you don't have a lot of time especially with a lot of teams now bringing in the blitz um yeah your skill set needs to be obviously you know on a different level then again you need to be able to scan and look for space is that something that the great player is born with is it something that you you can be taught is it something that you coached or is it a bit of both i think it's a bit of both some some guys are are naturally just good at scanning and looking at space and seeing space then yeah it's also something you can train um you can literally go and review your training and see how many times you're scanning um yeah and i think you You can also look at footballers, guys like Frank Lampard, Xavi, when he was playing at Barcelona, Leo Messi, like those guys. I think there's a guy that did a study on how many times they scan and how many scans they do before they actually make a pass or play. And it's really, it'll open your mind and just, yeah.

Stormers play in a burst type of rugby, Inga. It's not just trying to build 25 phases. It's, you know, obviously the team that is least likely to do that. Actually, it's more like let's score, let's do it, let's go. Dave preaches a lot of, you know, seeing exactly what's in front of you and taking advantage of exploiting those gaps.

So when you're doing the peak training and the entry prevention, are you thinking about that? That, you know, the Stormers are a high burst velocity team. Load and go, load and go, get up, get go, get it back and go, as opposed to structuring, building some sort of elaborate plan. Is that part of your thinking? Absolutely.

We all have to be aligned, right? We follow a rugby program. So we have to know what our game plan is. We have to understand the coach's philosophy and what they want from the players so that we can optimize what we're doing so that they can be the best that they can be. And that's not just us, predominantly the SNCs, but it's like with Damien, him covering fullback, center, wing.

the different demands on his body. So in that week or leading up to that, you're going to have to make sure he's kicking more now this week or he's kicking less and he's covering more metres. So have we prepared him enough for that responsibility? And that's really how you're thinking about your individual players each and every time to make sure that we've really protected them and made them robust enough to cope with all of those different adaptations as Garza said that he needs to do I mean covering fullback then all of a sudden there might be an injury He now has to go to wing I get to chat to him a little bit more on wing because he right there But again, within each game, things change drastically. I love that.

Inge, you're about 5,000 times smarter than the physios when I played. So, no, like they were just yelling at us for being babies. Get up. You're not hurt. That's not pain.

guys I was thinking so in preparation for this interview I did rigorous research now obviously I went back and I watched something that I've always kind of stuck in my mind and I think it ties into physio so it's Caleb Clark he finds the hole between Vinny and Bongi all blacks against box 10 meter line I think he leaves Sos for dead obviously that's not a problem one man to beat you coming from all the other way on the other side of the field and and you're smiling. I went back and I made sure I looked at it. You're chasing down Caleb Clark who ran a 10.7 in schools and you're smiling and you run him down and you tackle the man twice because he gets up and goes again. I didn't know that.

I had to look at that again. And you just take his soul. So where is that fire coming from? No one would have blamed you if you didn't catch Caleb Clark who had a 10 meter start on you where did you get that reserve do you have a bit of an extra load can you reach down somewhere else and get it is it from your mom charlotte your dad funny your brother ramon your roots or is it just something innate that you're like you're not gonna beat me wow it's a very good question um i think it's yeah as you said um it's probably like where i come from I've always been competitive as a kid, coming through school, primary school, and I just love to compete and obviously playing against the All Blacks, you know, and that's a big moment in the game. I know it was always the end of the game, but still, you know, like you're wearing the badge and, you know, you don't want to disappoint yourself, your family, everyone at your hometown is watching you.

And yeah, as I said, that was just the moment where know it was one-on-one it's gonna be like okay who's gonna who's gonna who's gonna who's gonna who's gonna win this who's gonna win this battle you know um and yeah i think actually in that moment i thought he was gonna step me on the inside so i think why i was smiling it's probably because he took the outside that's probably why um but yeah just deep down you know um we all love the badge uh it's an honor to represent your country and i think for me that moment was just how much it meant because you said it was the end of the game. But again, there's something deeper, there's more fire. And yeah, I just really, really wanted to not let them score, you know. And yeah, I was obviously lucky enough to stay in that hunt and, you know, make that tackle, which was massive. Yeah, what a great tackle, two-handed too.

Just taking both hands, putting him on his shorts and bringing him down. Sorry, Enge, what were you saying? I'd like to add to your question, and he's being so humble about it. I mean, he's the ultimate athlete, right? Like, we're playing Benetton in this season.

He has a grade one hamstring strain in the last 10 minutes of the game. We wrap him up and he says, no, I can still carry on. And he also does a cross cover to go for one of their wings or on attack. And we go and we score um so from that so again it's just innately in him and i think it speaks to the athlete that he is as well thanks you know and i think sometimes there's inner reserve there's a reservoir uh gaza that's down there that we find from our roots from our family i love this is a coach uh in america that talks to basketball players he talks about to his team he says i want you to be as tough as your mom he doesn't he doesn't pick a male relative he picks someone in their family I know you're very close to your mom, Charlotte, and you guys have worked together to feed the community that you were raised in, making food on a Tuesday, running an operation, you know, food for two days for people, porridge, curry, jams, and you're a partner in Be The Difference. Talk to me about that, you know, what's the giving back part of that?

And how much in your mind, in your heart, in your soul, are you tied to where you're from? Yeah, I think for me personally, I have a responsibility. You know, as a man, as a man of the community, obviously I've got a great opportunity and honoured to play professional sports, represent my country. So I also have a duty towards my community. And, you know, even if it's just a little bit of whatever we can give and give back, I think it's important and I think you should do it.

As I said, it's something that myself, my family has always been really, really big on. It's to look after each other. My neighborhood where I come from, where I used to live with my gran, it was always so loving, caring, community-based. And, yeah, so obviously when we moved now to a different part of Strand, I told my mom after COVID, you know, that obviously the need was still there within our community. So, yeah, and I think obviously, you know, I wanted to inspire the next generation of athletes.

They might not be athletes, but, you know, there's a lot of talent there, you know, musicians, you know, all kinds of like some of them are teachers. and one of my friends actually just um he got graduated to be um got upgraded or upgraded promoted to to um to yeah the Afrikaans head department of the Western Cape so there's there's a lot of talent there I think we all just um boost off each other you know when one is doing well it's like Damien thank you so much for that man that really inspired me you know I've started now going to the gym or whatever like i'm putting in more to my work and my craft and i'm trying to get the kids rolling and and that's just how you get you know the ball rolling and as i said i have a duty and it's my duty to give back you know not just by like giving food food away and just like saying that but really really like mean it and as i said um it has a big influence on a lot of people back home no that's so inspiring uh you've got a friend of yours coming to the stormers next year Chesson Colby and Inga he's also one of the guys I'm sure of this that he uses the physio more than anyone else in rugby so you're going to be running even more Chessy's always got something going on I think it's because he's a super athlete can you see the the vision there guys you can see like the back line with Sasha Yu Chesslin I mean there's some Emmy coming on as a young scrum off the old man Corbus calling the shots I mean there's some unbelievable firepower but how do you organize that that sounds like a rave in a marsh pit you know with a blindfold on yeah no I think it's obviously a great addition Cezlin Colby is one of the best rugby players in the world probably of our generation I would say arguably and he's a stormer he's always been a stormer obviously had a great time in Japan but obviously now it's time for him to come home and we're looking forward to having him and i just think he's going to add more you know obviously flavor juice flair x factor to this great stormers back line that we already have and yeah obviously with with him coming in more as a obviously another senior player uh with sia uh with volku coming in as well it's just really really gonna you know give us the opportunity to still fight harder for for trophies next year and that's what we want to do we want to put the stormers as we have done the last couple of seasons where maybe haven't got it over the line as we would have wanted to um but we've put ourselves in very good positions now getting these additional signings to to the club you know i'm just going to put us in a much not much better but like it's going to give us a chance now to compete in europe and and brings all the way back to cape town um where where you know where it belongs so and just keeping stormers rugby up there um because all these guys come from our unions you know from our regions so um yeah it's great to have them back and yeah we're looking forward to having them back home so you're in dublin you're getting ready to knock uh lenster out to shock the world um turn it upside down um reverberate earthquake and i'm ready for it um you know and it's interesting because you go into these matches and there's got to be a thrill, the jeopardy, the suspense. You've been around. I know you're 28 or so, but you've seen a lot of rugby in a long time. This has to get your juices flowing.

Envia will remember this very well when your drop goal against the Bulls 70 minutes in 2022 en route to title. And Envia is in pain a lot now during this side-by-side series. But, you know, Darbo said, I think, post that drop goal that you hit, Damien oozes blue and white. He bleeds blue and white. I mean, you are a province man.

You are a guy that goes way back. How good does it feel right now to step on the field in Dublin and knowing that you're the leader of this team, you're a senior player. I've always thought you played best in games where it's tough and rough and not everything is going just right. You're not the flat track bully. You're the, you know, let's grind.

How ready are you for tomorrow? Yeah, really looking forward to tomorrow. I mean, these are the games that you want to play and these are the fixtures, you know, you want to be in and you look forward to it. And obviously, you worked the whole year to be in this position. I said to someone the other day we were like Benetton was like last year October before November And look where we are now And you know it been so much work you know as I said from everyone involved you know from the owners to the backroom staff at the HBC and our training grounds The work they've put in, the work the physios have put in, the work the players have put in to go on the road.

Win at Turman Park, win at Benetton and Treviso. We've never won a game. um scarlet's was tough we had the two tough games against the sharks the bulls away so a lot has gone into the season and you know we've we've really really grinded to to get here and yeah now we're here and it's as you said um yeah i love when it's when it's when it's tough and it's hard and you know you want to play against the best players in the world and And, you know, Lens certainly have plenty of them. They've got probably 20 Irish internationals in that team. And it's opportunity for us.

For a lot of the young guys, they're going to be up against some British and Irish Lions, 50, 60 test caps for Ireland. But again, we've always just stuck to our processes, the things we do well. we are a blue-collar team, as Dabo always tell us. You know, a lot of guys, we just work hard for each other and we just fight for this badge and for everyone in the team. Some guys don't have the opportunity to play this weekend, so we're representing them as well.

And as I said, our responsibility towards the people back home was putting in such a lot of work, our fans and supporters. It was turned up for so many of the games. So tomorrow is a day to go out there and just leave it out there in the field. It's going to be massive, a lot of nerves, a lot of positive energy as well. But yeah, it's a game you want to play and we're really looking forward to tomorrow.

One of my favorite sayings is, from certain stone as ladybester, if I can avoid something strenuous or dense or anything, I'll do that. You go the other way. You run towards the danger. I'm very interested in that side of it. Why?

Why is it so exciting for you to do this kind of thing? Because people generally tend to shy away from confrontation and tough times or whatever. Yet you sort of excel in it. What's the difference there? What makes you that person?

I think I've always just really enjoyed, you know, doing the hard yards. Like the stuff that the people don't always necessarily see. But that's really rewarded within the team. Or, yeah, like I don't care about a highlight play or whatever. but you know like covering a backfield kick or you know being there to help my teammate or make a cover cover defensive tackle um yeah i think that's just the type of player that i am um and as i said i've it's always been in my dna to to fight you know um since i've been a child came from some situation as primary we never had a field um obviously got the opportunity to go to porus i was obviously competing against some of the best school boys in in south africa um and then yeah i obviously got the opportunity to play for for the stormers at 18 years old um and then after that springbok so it's always been you know i've always been up against you know you know adversity of yeah yeah it's it's part of me it's part of my family um yeah it's just it's in my blood so yeah i've always suffered and i i went back down to manage emotion in a in a group of young men uh and and how everyone's affecting everyone else is tricky obviously um one of the toughest things happen uncle chippy passing away this this season and managing that of course there's too much emotion probably right afterwards it's just hard to control now you you know it's it's it's it's receding in the background it's still there the pain's still there but it's different you know It's not on the top of your brain all the time.

Dobbo told me a great story about this week. The backs and the forwards go out and have their separate dinners, and you can monitor the seriousness of the forwards by how much beer they drink. And if it was normally like 30, it's two. So they're really in a proper angry mood, and they don't want to drink. That's good for you, Gaza.

The forward pack is ready to be angry. But Ingrid, how do you sense it now? You're very close to the pulse. You know, you're doing that vital thing in all elite sports, strapping. You know, we have superstitions about it.

We like it just so. And getting ready, you're talking to your physio, your friend. How do you feel it? You feel like the boys are ready to shock the world? Absolutely.

And I think the split dinner was definitely testament to that. There were Cokes all around. And as soon as they were done eating, they were heading home. And I think having lost Uncle Trippier, and I think this is the perfect person to be sitting here with this interview because, I mean, having been part of the Stormer since he's 18, Uncle Chippy was also close to being this mentor and this person. And so I think for all of us, he still sits right here in our hearts.

And I think that kind of adds more to the emotion of where we are at within this competition. Talking about Benetton feeling so long ago when we went through that slump of our losses. Remember, as physios, I think we feel all these things. when guys are struggling with injuries or we know the kind of mental state they're in, we have to still try and keep the positivity and so not get down into that emotional roller coaster for yourself. Because I think that let them live the emotions and we there's the sounding board to try and just kind of stay stable and strong so that we can support that because it's going to be a big one.

I feel we're ready. I feel we're focused. I feel the boys have done a lot of the work, both on the field and off the field, to really pull it off this weekend. Yeah, they say still waters run deep. There's something really powerful down low.

Gaza, I'm telling you, this is just from me. This is my brain telling you this, but it's also my sense. Leinster's ready to break. They just need someone to help them break. I think there's something there that's not quite right.

And there's something very, very, very harmonious at Stormis. very like people are thinking with one mind one body one spirit ready to go um so just take us out with you know how you see how you see it going uh and what you do in those times in those big big games how do you get yourself ready yeah look obviously it's um obviously teams come first so it's team prep and as inger said our team prep has been very very went very very well this week uh travel was awesome uh boys came here recovery um and then yeah we've just been obviously you know split dinner some of the packs went for simulator golf just to connect and bond a little bit have a few laughs and um yeah and i was just obviously with your individual prep um just mind mind brain gym um and and probably just like putting yourself in in situations scenarios that could play out and how you can apply yourself in a big game tomorrow how you can control your emotions um and then yeah obviously we need to admit the fact that linster's a great side no matter what um they're still married to uh the the champions cup final um playing the semi-final of the urc um they want to finish second on the third on the log second on the log um so you know as much as people and yeah their fans or whatever uh give them slack for whatever um they still lens then they still have four stars and a great team they're great coaching coaches and still have jock yeah and um yeah i think obviously the way i think the games want to go it's going to be close man um it's going to be big moments as i said they've got quality international players there but so do we have some serious players as well. And as I said, we're not going to come here all the way to Dublin to take part in this game. We're coming here to obviously win the game and go to the final and go all the way, hopefully. But yeah, we're looking forward to the game, man.

And yeah, I think whatever happens tomorrow will happen. And as I said, we won't leave any ounce out there. Let's just do it So we're all looking forward to it It's going to get the body's Feet up now and recover I feel it man, I feel it I heard Damien giving this answer But volcanoes were happening inside him It's ready to burst He's just keeping it on the down low It's low key While the backs were playing golf, Damien The forwards were out chasing wild boar And tackling deer and drinking deer blood That's what they were doing so no it's been really great to have you guys on and we are really tough to see the relationships inside the wider uh part of a team that's what we're fascinated with on this pod you know all the different ways it goes and and it's it couldn't be happier that we that we had you on ingo with damien uh obviously the the love around in the team just all throughout the team is uh it's visible. It's great to see. Oh, thank you.

They give me grey hairs, definitely. They just hid in very well. But it's a real privilege. And I mean, it's a privilege having seen, actually, some players actually have grown up in front of me. And so, and have seen these legends leave and legends returning.

And so for us to be able to be in the serving role, it is a real privilege. When is Darbo going to grow up? We'll leave that to you to figure out how's that. Cheers Damien, great to have you as well. Thanks Harry.

Bye. This is the Lekker Rugby Pod, only on Megaphone Rugby.

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