RAMS’ fan favourite Sean McDonnell-Roberts has confirmed there is ‘massive excitement’ among the Senior squad ahead of the National Cup, writes Richard Ashton.
And while the prop won’t be able to take part himself as he recovers from shoulder surgery, he said the Old Bath Road side are chomping at the bit to get back onto the pitch.
He beamed: “There’s massive excitement after going from a point where we thought we’d have no contact rugby, no competitive rugby at all, and just training to train, now we say we’re training for that cup.
“There could be some great games. If every game (in the group stage) is a local derby or a big rivalry, and other teams will have been training like us, it will be all on the day – small one per centers (will decide who wins).
“All those exciting games from last year where it came down to the last five minutes, they’ll be back.”
With the Government confirming a relaxation on the number of fans potentially allowed to attend games amid the coronavirus pandemic, ‘Turkey’ believes some of the feel-good factor of the past few years can hopefully continue in the coming months.
McDonnell-Roberts continued: “It’s very, very exciting, not just from the playing side, which obviously I won’t be involved in, but the social side – seeing the people you’ve seen for however many years and getting back to that routine.
“Just seeing people, touching base, finding out how they are, seeing what’s going on in their lives. All the small little things people took for granted, everyone’s just really excited about it.
“The weekend’s are something everyone misses and not just from a playing point of view – it’s about seeing the community the club brings together – there’s nothing like that.
“On a Saturday you can have hundreds of people supporting you, talking to you before and after the game, but equally you can rock up on a Sunday morning and still be there at 5pm just watching rugby. There’s just such a buzz at the club and that one massive-sized team we are.”
The senior squad returned to training this week, and Turkey said one positive of his recovery means he won’t have another pre-season to get through – while adding he believes the lads are in better shape than ever under the tutelage of Joe Southwell and Daryl Watson.
He joked: “Fortunately I won’t have to do it!
“It’s an exciting time because we had an excellent pre-season before we were told rugby wasn’t starting again, but it does mean our baseline fitness and strength – everything in terms of our physical conditioning – is going to be there as and when the rugby starts.
“It will just be a matter of fine tuning, getting that extra two per cent, but this season will be a good one no matter how much we can play and what format we play.”
