Long-time Springbok physiotherapist Rene Naylor said farewell to the team after their impressive win over Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff last weekend.
The Springboks beat Wales 45-12 to bring the curtain down on an amazing season that saw them win 11 of the 13 matches they played.
That win also saw an end of an era for Naylor, who has been a member of the backroom staff since 2008, when Peter de Villiers was the man at the helm.
Speaking to IOL Sport on Tuesday, Naylor made a point to mention that she wasn’t retiring, which was the message that had been shared across South Africa after the game against Wales.
“It’s been quite funny for me because someone sent something to me that was published that spoke about retirement, and I hate the word ‘retirement’,” Naylor said.
“Because it feels like you’re retreating, stepping back from danger. I don’t see it as retirement. I still feel I can be involved in sport and rugby. I don’t feel my time’s up in rugby because I’ve spent 30 years working as a physio, and I’ve been with the Springboks since 2008.
“I’ve never been on a full time contract, so it’s always been a fixed term contract, and my contract ends this year and they were not going to renew it. So it gave me time to reflect, and I thought maybe this is the time for a reset and think about other roles I could possible play in sport and in rugby.
“I feel I’ve learned such a lot, not only about medical management, but leadership and strategy as well, and team development, inclusion and diversity,” said Naylor, who also runs a private physiotherapy practice in the Mother City.
In her time with the Springboks, Naylor was involved in two Rugby World Cup-winning campaigns, as well as two wins over the British and Irish Lions. However, while that was special for her, it was the parades across the country that left meant a lot to her.
“Bringing that trophy back to South Africa, to our country. I remember having tears coming back to OR Tambo and hearing the anthem as you arrive and seeing people’s faces on the trophy tours, going through different places in South Africa.
“That was definitely one of the highlights.
“And then sometimes it’s things like someone from the other side of the world contacting and saying ‘I’ve just worked with a young girl. She’s 18 and wanted to do physio based on your career’, and you think ‘wow, you’re impacting young girls’.
“That for me has also been special. Particularly for the community I’m from. I come from the Cape Flats. I don’t think it’s meant for a coloured girl from the Cape Flats to be on the world stage. So for me to inspire them and my community has been amazing.”
From the young age of 16, she knew she wanted to become a physio and work in rugby, but being involved with the Springboks was not in her wildest dreams.
“When I was working at Western Province and the Stormers, I thought that was it. I was very happy, and never thought I’d be able to get a job with the national team.
During her time with the Boks, she worked with head coaches like De Villiers, Heyneke Meyer, before taking a short break during Allister Coetzee’s time. When Rassie Erasmus was appointed coach in 2018, Naylor was the physio he wanted as he plotted a path to World Cup glory.
“I probably have to thank Peter de Villiers for having the vision at that stage, and being prepared to be bold to appoint a woman as the team’s physiotherapist.
“I thought that was quite visionary of him, and I’m grateful he trusted me with the position. Even Heyneke. He was quite visionary in allowing me to travel with my baby Cullin.
“I thought they’d ask me to leave when I had my baby in 2013. Heyneke agreed that I could travel with the team with my baby and a nanny. That was also quite a highlight and a special time, but also quite a difficult time.”
Now all grown up, Cullin was in Cardiff on Saturday, but after the ground’s security guard refused to allow him onto the pitch to be with his mother, centre Jesse Kriel stepped in and got him on the park, which was something else Naylor found quite special about the team environment.
“That was amazing. I think the one part of our team that’s been so amazing is the inclusivity of our families. It’s something that not all teams do. Some teams try to keep it seperate.
“And for us to be able to bring our families into the team environment has always been very important to us, and the players have embraced Cullin as part of the team. They’ve always welcomed him, they’ve always been good to him.”
Naylor spent eight years working with Bok coaches De Villiers and Meyer, but took a brief break from the team in 2016 when Coetzee was appointed coach.
“I took a break in 2016, but in 2018, Rassie called me and said ‘don’t you want to come back to the Springboks and win the World Cup with us?’, and I said ‘definitely I’m coming back’ because I was really missing it.”
So, after being involved with the Springboks since 2008, who is Naylor’s favourite player?
“I’m sure they [the Boks] think I’ve got favourite players, but I’ve always had a saying that I even tell youngsters. I always say ‘treat every player like he’s a World Cup winning champion’.
“I’ve become very close with some of the players and their families through the years. I’ve seen players growing up from being young boys to grown men, fathers and husbands, but I don’t have one favourite player,” Naylor said.
IOL Sport