When the Boks meet the All Blacks for their second Test, they will have been in an unbroken bio-secure environment for 12 weeks. Researchers are just beginning to understand what an effect this unnatural existence is having on performance.
As the 2021 Rugby Championship reached its conclusion, debates about performances and results will start giving way to concerns over the wellbeing of athletes.
Opponents Argentina had six players suspended for taking an unauthorised day trip out of Queensland into New South Wales. Although the circumstances were unclear, months of being in BSE must have been a factor in that situation. “There’s an excitement that the bubble is almost at an end, but the challenge for us is to ensure we have two feet in Australia,” Nienaber said from the Gold Coast this week.
“The players are susceptible to various mental health issues, including mental fatigue, depression, anxiety or insomnia. In January this year, former Proteas assistant coach and renowned mental coach Paddy Upton urged the International Cricket Council to seriously consider studies into “bubble fatigue”.
“If players are left alone, your mind goes all over the shore.” Players, he said, had to have the discipline to “find a good distraction” or they would “get caught up in anxiety and emptiness”. Extroverts, especially, were struggling in a bio-bubble “because they need people. Introverts are happy in their own space.
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