Combrinck boost for Lions
Lions wing Ruan Combrinck has just extended his contract at the franchise for another two years.
|||Johannesburg - Lions wing Ruan Combrinck has just extended his contract at the franchise for another two years.
“I really enjoy my time here at the Lions. When I first arrived there in 2012 John Mitchell was the coach. He is a very smart coach with an All Black mindset. I played in three games for the Under 21's when he called me up to train with the Currie Cup side. I trained with them that whole squad - without playing one game but now it all been worth it.”
'Commies', as he is known among his teammates, grew up just around the corner from Nkandla, president Jacob Zumas' homestead in KwaZulu-Natal, in Babanango where the fifth generation of Combrincks are still farming. He started boarding school in Grade 1 and later went on to finish his matric at Michaelhouse in the KZN midlands where he went to school with the Cronje brothers Guy and Ross.
Combrinck is one of the in-form wings in the country at the moment and clearly knows how to navigate his way to the goal-line, even against tough Kiwi opposition.
“I have played a full 80 minutes for 11 games now. And when I asked our fitness trainer what I needed to do in our bye week, I was told to rest, that I have done enough. “But to me, it felt like we were just starting. I just love working hard, putting in the extra hours. “I always wait until everyone has left for the day before I start with my gym workout. I don't train for anyone else, I train for me. Then there is no-one to impress,” he explains.
Combrinck is used to working hard for recognition, first at Maties and Western Province, where he never really got a decent opportunity, and then at the Lions when Mitchell coached them when he joined to Jozi outfit back in 2012. - African News Agency (ANA)