Returning Glasgow Warriors star Kyle Steyn has admitted he needed to be restrained by the medical staff to stop him making his comeback during last week’s defeat to Exeter after he completed 80 minutes against Toulon.
The Glasgow captain put in a tough shift against the French side as Franco Smith’s men sealed their place in the last 16 of the tournament and although they don’t yet know who they will face in that April tie and with a Six Nations campaign for Scotland and games in the United Rugby Championship with Warriors to come ahead, it is being put out of mind for now but Steyn was thrilled to be back involved ahead of linking up with Gregor Townsend’s squad.
The South African born wing was able to return home for his dad’s 60th birthday while he was out injured and that meant a lot to him and helped him recover but he’s been chomping at the bit over the festive period and into January as he looked to get back into the team and he has revealed that he had battles with the medical staff over last week’s game. The decision was ultimately made that he would sit it out and Steyn begrudgingly admits they were probably right to do so but now he’s hoping to kick on with Scotland again after an impressive Six Nations last year.
The World Cup in France didn’t go as planned but Steyn is impressed by the core group of players who have made up the squad in the last few years and is looking to go again and challenge for the Six Nations trophy, which Scotland haven’t won since the last Five Nations campaign in 1999.
He said: “I was hoping to get back last week and I had a bit of a tussle with the physios! Unfortunately it was just the way it worked out. Because we hadn’t trained the week before I hadn’t had any team training and they were a bit worried from a loading point of view. I was gutted not to be out there for the Exeter game but chuffed to get a win at home.
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“I did my best. I was due some time off anyway, post-World Cup, so I got back to South Africa for a week for my dad’s 60th which was brilliant, and a much needed break.
“But other than that I was in and about and as soon as I could run I got back on the water-carrying duties and did both Edinburgh games and Exeter.
“I said to myself just to keep it simple and do the basics, carry well and work hard and you do. Training is great for that. Having two weeks of team training before the game is really good for that, you get your sharpness up and get into a rhythm.”
Steyn got his first real run of games in last year’s Six Nations and now he’s hoping to do the same again this time around. The 30-year-old has 15 caps for Scotland since making his debut in 2020 with most of them coming last year as he started all five games in the competition before appearing at the World Cup.
That was huge for him and it was why he was so desperate to return to action for Glasgow before the campaign started against Wales on February 3.
He continued: “That’s why I was keen to get the Exeter game because nothing replaces the rhythm you get from playing a run of games and that’s why the Six Nations was awesome. It was great to be a part of that group that was fighting so well and we got off to a great start. I’d never had more than two consecutive caps without falling out so that period of playing five games and to get a rhythm was awesome.
“We’ve a point to prove and this four year cycle has to be different. If you take where we were in 2019, we took on a lot of learning and made massive strides in the four years to this world cup but we have to build on it. We’re lucky in that if you look at the squad announced there’s a massive core squad that’s been there for two, three and some of it four years so I think there’s a good energy and we know what we want to work on and where we want to go so I’m excited to get going.”
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