Living in biosecure bubbles: Final mental barrier looms for Springboks as they head Down Under

First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.

More and more athletes are taking time out for the sake of their mental health. Gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics, before eventually returning to win a bronze medal in the beam event. Biles cited Naomi Osaka as her inspiration, after the tennis star withdrew from the French Open earlier this year.

Biosecure bubbles have amplified the mental challenge for many individuals and teams. It’s got to the point where international cricketers of the calibre of Quinton de Kock have opted out of tours and tournaments to avoid spending a few months in a restricted environment. This past July, England all-rounder Ben Stokes decided to take an indefinite break from the game to prioritise his mental wellbeing. 

Ten weeks and counting

Spare a thought, then, for the Springboks, who have been in a bubble since 27 June. Over the past 10 weeks, they have been forced to prepare for Tests against the British & Irish Lions, Georgia and Argentina within a restricted environment.

The good news is that the players and coaches will be released from the bubble a few days before their first Test against Australia on the Gold Coast. The bad news is that they will have to complete a 14-day quarantine beforehand.

Over the past few months, DM168 has interviewed a variety of experts on the subject of bio-bubbles and mental health.

At the start of the year, Bulls high-performance manager Henning Gericke – who previously worked with the Boks, Proteas and Bafana Bafana as a mental coach – admitted that the bubble would present the players with new and significant challenges.

Tom Dawson-Squibb, the University of Cape Town head coach as well as the Stormers’ mental coach, suggested that long-term exposure to a bubble environment might compromise the players’ mental health.

“The South African franchises might be okay if they’re away for five weeks in the Rainbow Cup,” Dawson-Squibb said at the time.

“That’s manageable. However, what about the Bok players who might go straight from a Rainbow Cup bubble into a Lions tour bubble, and then straight into a Rugby Championship bubble, and then straight into an end-of-year tour bubble? That’s when it becomes dangerous.

“That’s why mental health will be in the spotlight even more this season.”

The SA teams’ Rainbow Cup fixtures in Europe were cancelled because of Covid-19 related travel restrictions. And yet, Dawson-Squibb’s fears have been realised to an extent, with many of the top players bouncing from bubble to bubble without a break. By the time the Boks are released to play the Wallabies on the Gold Coast, they will have been cooped up for 11 weeks.

Bok fans should bear this in mind when demanding flawless performances on what is an exceptionally challenging tour.

South Africa will play two matches against the Wallabies and then two against the All Blacks. Never before have the Boks faced their Antipodean counterparts on four consecutive weekends.

Indeed, one of the biggest challenges facing the Boks coaches over the next six weeks will be the management of mental fatigue. 

Managing life in a bubble

The MyPlayers organisation looks after the interests of the rugby players in South Africa. CEO Eugene Henning explains what the players have been through over the past few months as well as why their sacrifice has been necessary.

Covid-19 grounded the Springboks for the entire 2020 season. Since the national team received the green light to resume international competition, SA Rugby and the players themselves have gone out of their way to fulfil the 2021 schedule. The governing body is desperate to bring in some money after suffering crippling financial losses last year.

“The players and management accepted that they would have to make a big sacrifice in terms of their day-to-day lives,” says Henning. “Player welfare and mental health was taken into consideration and catered for as much as possible.”

In May, MyPlayers sat down with SA Rugby to plan and prepare for the bubble. They also held discussions with the coaches and the players about their needs.

“It shouldn’t surprise anyone to hear that families – in this case the wives and kids – play a role in every individual’s mental wellbeing. A big effort was made to include the families in the bubble to provide the players with the necessary support,” Henning said.

“We brought in au pairs to take care of the kids. We brought in a jumping castle. We came up with programmes to keep the wives entertained, and programmes to keep the group as a whole entertained when it wasn’t focused on rugby. We wanted to make the environment as normal as possible.

“You can’t go into this situation with a one-size-fits-all approach to mental health,” Henning adds. “That’s what’s happened in the past. More recently, we have realised how important a customised approach is to a happy environment. That’s not easy when you’re dealing with a large group of 50 or 60 people who all want different things, but you have to take what they are saying onboard.

“For most players, having their families around is enough. Others need a good braai or an opportunity to play golf. Some need access to a psychologist – and we have a panel that’s available to the players 24/7 and all the sessions remain confidential.”

Bouncing from bubble to bubble

Most of the players congregated for a three-week camp in Bloemfontein in early June, and trained under “normal” conditions. When the remaining players joined on 27 June, after being released from their overseas clubs, the entire group went into a “soft” bubble in Johannesburg.

According to one source, as many as 25 members of the team contracted Covid-19 in early July, shortly after the first Test against Georgia. Thereafter, the squad went into a “hard” bubble and their movements were severely limited.

“We had to scale back on a lot of the activities,” says Henning. “That may have impacted on the players’ mental wellbeing, but we were in a situation where we had to put their physical wellbeing first.”

At the time of the Covid-19 outbreak within the camp, it was feared that key players such as captain Siya Kolisi and fly Handré Pollard would miss the first Test against the Lions. Morale in the camp was low.

Given the lack of preparation, many people in South Africa and in the United Kingdom believed that the Boks would struggle to compete against a well-drilled and battle-hardened Lions team.

The Boks went on to lose the first Test, but they bounced back to win the remaining two matches and ultimately the series.

The day after the third Test, they transferred from Cape Town to Gqeberha for another two-week bubble as well as two Tests against the Pumas. The Boks won those matches comfortably and moved to the top of the Rugby Championship log.

South Africa travelled to Australia on Thursday, 26 August in high spirits. They have already ticked a number of big boxes – none bigger than the series win against the Lions. They can be doubly proud of that victory, given it was achieved in the most challenging of environments. 

The risk of bubble fatigue

Players aren’t robots, however, and it would be unwise to assume that the gruelling ordeal hasn’t taken a mental toll.

“I don’t think we should pretend that the players won’t be mentally fatigued after what they’ve been through over the past few months,” says Henning.

“If you consider everything they’ve been through and how long they’ve spent in a bubble – that’s almost the perfect way to mentally drain someone.

“They have a reason to be positive, though. I worked with them for a long time and I know they are very strong mentally.

“They will be under strict conditions when they quarantine in Australia now, but it may help to know that this is the last stretch before they’re released from the bubble completely.”

In an unprecedented move, Rassie Erasmus and SA Rugby encouraged Henning to travel with the team in 2019. Having the players’ representative on tour helped the coaches and players to address any issues – and foster an honest and happy environment – in a timely manner. 

Dollie takes on new role with Boks

Henning has decided to step down from the role in order to focus on the day-to-day demands of his role as MyPlayers CEO. Former Western Province flyhalf Isma-eel Dollie, who serves as the MyPlayers national player relationship manager, has travelled with the Boks to Australia.

“Isma-eel has been working with us for the past five years, travelling around the country and liaising with the players,” explains Henning. “He first came into the Springbok set-up ahead of the Lions series.

“He will be our eyes and ears on the ground in Australia. While he’s there, his first port of call will be Jacques Nienaber and the coaches. They will liaise over all the player issues and work towards finding solutions,” he says.

“The great thing about Jacques and Rassie is that they realise how much of what happens off the field affects the performance on the field. They have bought into this process. I think that, in the long term, someone like Isma-eel could be a very important link between the players and the coaches.” DM168

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper which is available for R25 at Pick n Pay, Exclusive Books and airport bookstores. For your nearest stockist, please click here.