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#ReturnToRugby: Interview with Michael Lowry, Marcell Coetzee & John Cooney

12th August 2020
As the senior team makes a return to rugby, we spoke to Michael Lowry, Marcell Coetzee and John Cooney about how it feels to be back training together at Kingspan Stadium, and how the squad is looking forward to confirmed Guinness PRO14 and Heineken Cup fixtures. How does it feel to be back at Kingspan Stadium with the squad? Michael Lowry: It’s great to be back. We’re a tight group here; to go from seeing each other and training every day together to complete isolation and training by yourself was pretty tough to take. It’s great to see everyone again. The first few weeks were a bit different because we were in small groups but now we’re seeing each other again and can crack on with training. Marcell Coetzee: I had an unbelievable time back in South Africa with the family but it’s back to business and great to see the boys again, catching up with them and the coaches. There are a few challenges that await us now but it’s a combination of excitement and a buzz now and I’m looking forward to playing. John Cooney: It’s nice being around other people and getting that encouragement again. It was hard to be motivated when it was just myself. It’s good to be around other people working hard; something we pride ourselves on is our collective ability to work hard, so it’s great to be back in that environment being pushed by players and coaches alike. Have the safety protocols affected how you, or the squad, train?  ML: There are certain protocols we have to abide by. It’s not exactly the same as it was before lockdown obviously, but we’re slowly getting there. It’s great to get some sort of normality back. The support staff have done a fantastic job to get everything running smoothly again. We might not be able to stay at the facility for long, but we’re squeezing everything out that we can in the time we have. How does it feel to have confirmed dates for the Guinness PRO14 and Heineken Champions Cup play-offs on the horizon? ML: It’s really exciting. That’s why we play rugby - we love playing matches and we’re all striving for the same goal. To be able to go for that again, that’s what gets us excited and buzzing around here. It’s something we really look forward to and it’s a bit of light at the end of the tunnel to have those dates confirmed. MC: The biggest challenge in these last few months was the uncertainty. With those fixtures coming, that gives us clarity and we can build towards that. Training is going really well, the young guys and new faces coming in have really settled in well; there’s just a new energy going around. We’re all striving to be successful in these upcoming games. What are you looking forward to the most about a return to rugby? MC: Just to get stuck back in. We love this game and that’s why we get up every morning. We want to let our talent show and have fun on the pitch. John, we saw that you found lots of interesting ways of keeping fit during lockdown; will you be continuing with these? JC: Something I’ve always enjoyed is doing my own bit of training when I can, such as going to the gym in the evening. I’ve probably been given out to over the years, and maybe done too much sometimes, but I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve got a gym set-up in my garage, so it was nice to do my own bit of work every day. I got a bit carried away with trick-shot videos, which I’ve got a bit of stick about from the lads, but I like doing the keepie-uppies using the tennis ball to keep me stimulated because I get bored sometimes! What are your ambitions for these upcoming matches? JC: These are a hugely important couple of games for us to get into the semi-finals of the Guinness PRO14 and we have the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final. It’s going to come around quickly, these big important games. Our mantra has always been about taking each game as it comes. It’s important for us to play well in that first game against Connacht and it’s a personal one for me. I always come out of that one battered and bruised – it’s important we play well in that game and get some momentum going into the Leinster game and hopefully, the semi-final.