Ruan Pienaar
seems to have been on the rugby treadmill for about five years now without a break, ever since joining
Ulster
five years ag
o.
If ever a player needed a break, it's the classy, 31-year-old scrumhalf who has shown signs of wear and tear this season, yet there he'll be tomorrow night in Thomond Park, happily accepting the invitation to play for the Barbarians against Ireland, before moving on to Twickenham for Sunday's match against England.
Massive honour
In part, his reasoning was to overcome the acute disappointment of last Friday’s Guinness Pro12 semi-final defeat in Glasgow and be with a squad in demob happy mode at the end of the season.
“It’s a massive honour if you get invited, you only get here if you get an invitation,” he said.
“When you see the players who have worn this jersey before you, it’s some of the best players who have ever played the game and to get the opportunity to do that and play with some of the world’s best players, not many players will say no to that. So, that’s the main reason.
“Also, to enjoy the week. There’s no pressure on us, it’s about enjoying it. We have the freedom to play a bit, you start playing rugby because you enjoy it and that’s what you get here.”
While it's been a tough few years, Pienaar maintains he's "enjoyed every bit", and he'll take a four-week break before "hopefully" being part of South Africa's summer plans and then the World Cup.
“That’s a goal of mine still, so it’s good to get going while you can. One of these days you have got to think about moving on and hanging the boots up, so the more you can play, the better. As long as you enjoy it, you go as long as possible.”
Not that he's plans to retire for a while yet, and spoke of playing for "another couple of years" beyond the remaining two years of his contract with Ulster. He looks at Peter Stringer and quips: "He's my role model at the moment."
Besides, as he noted, this won’t be the worst weekend not to be at home in Belfast. “I think I’d rather be here than in Belfast watching two teams that are playing on our pitch competing for silverware.
“Winning trophies is the goal and that’s the sad and disappointing thing about last week. We were the better team on the day but we lost it at the end there – Glasgow are a quality side who took their opportunities well. We’ve lost a couple of times in play-offs like that, but as a group I think this one hurts the most of them all.
“We keep saying we have to learn, we have to learn, but there’s got to be a time where we start learning and win something. I do believe that we’ve got a good squad at Ulster, hopefully competing for silverware and hopefully I can win something before I leave one day.”
More competitive
Looking toward the World Cup, Pienaar goes with the view that it will be more competitive than normal, citing England, Ireland and Wales as contenders along with the southern hemisphere big three.
“Firstly they’ve got a really good squad,” said Pienaar of Ireland.
“Secondly they’ve got a really clever coach. Just the way they approach teams, they’ve always got something up their sleeve, always different game plans. They think outside the box.
“I think the players buy in to what Joe [Schmidt] is trying to do with them, and I think everybody has got respect for him and I think that is probably key. I think they’ll keep going upwards, and they’ll be one of the contenders.”
