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“It’s very nice to return,” he admits. “We wanted to bring our little boy back to South Africa and the opportunity arose; then we spoke to everyone and we managed to get it right. I’m very happy to be back here again.”
He admits that his seven week old son had a lot of travel for such a young baby, travelling for two days to get to Durban from Ireland via a few stop-offs on the way.
“I’m just so happy to be back.
“The conditions are different over there, it’s going to be nice for my son not to have to go out wearing a snow suit all the time. He’ll be able to go out and enjoy the fresh air.”
As any parent will know, a support structure is incredibly helpful to parents, especially new ones and this will certainly be the case for the Sykes here in South Africa. “Yes, it’s also a big help that the grandparents are around as is our family.”
He admits that fatherhood has certainly changed his priorities, much of the motivation behind his return. “It does, I am a bit sleep-deprived although he is a very good sleeper. It’s hard to explain but fatherhood is probably the nicest feeling in the world.”
His time in Ireland was not the most agreeable he explains, although there were some positives. “I learned a lot while I was there and it was an interesting time for me but it was also a bit frustrating for me at a stage being injured. And then on top of that, I got a concussion. So I’m just glad to be back here. I want to start playing and contributing where I can.
“I’m really looking forward to the Super Rugby campaign.”
Despite coming here after being in the middle of a northern hemisphere season, he admits that his fitness levels are high. “They are actually very good, I’ve been training really hard, my diet has been good and I think I’m probably in the best shape I have been in for a long while.”
His coach, John Plumtree adds that there will be no problems re-integrating the former lock who accumulated over 130 caps for The Sharks before leaving last year. “He’ll fit right back in seamlessly, he hasn’t been away that long, I’m not too worried about him. He’s in good nick conditioning–wise. He trained really hard before he came back here.”
Having left in mid-2011, he doesn’t return to the squad with much having changed at all. “It’s good to have a settled side and then you have quality players coming in; it’s nice to have some new guys as well as all the youngsters coming through, they’re looking amazing.”
In 2011, The Sharks finished sixth, earning themselves a spot in the knock-out stages. In 2012, the desire is to do better. “To do that, we don’t need to do a lot differently, we just need to play and take it game by game and make sure we’re all committed in what we do. I’m pretty sure everything will go well if everybody buys into the same ideas and do what they need to.
“The other thing is for everyone to support and respect one another. That’s the main thing I learned in Ireland – the respect for players and respect for yourself.
“Enjoying yourself is also vital. Leaving The Shark to play in Ireland meant training and playing in snow, and now, coming back here and the sun is shining and the weather is great, it’s really nice being back.”
