Physio Rene Naylor Describes Life On The Road

Physio Rene Naylor describes life on the road with the Boks and getting to know the players and their problems.

- Carla Coetzee

It's hard to spot her in a room full of strapping rugby players. She can fit snugly under the arm of some of the loftier guys – but while she may be dwarfed by her charges, she has a giant role to play when it comes to the burly Boks’ chances of glory.

Although there’s no way of knowing yet if South Africa will bring home the Webb Ellis Trophy from the Rugby World Cup in Japan, one thing isn’t in dispute: the Boks’ bodies will take a pounding on the pitch. It’s just the nature of the game.

Injuries can throw a spanner in the works for any player – just take Trevor Nyakane, who tore a calf muscle in the Bok opener against the All Blacks and had to bid farewell to his world cup dreams.

Yet those who remain are in good hands thanks in part to Rene Naylor, a top-notch physiotherapist who, with more than 100 professional rugby games under her belt, is one of the squad’s most experience “players”.

When it comes to physical health, Rene (47) knows each team member’s Achilles heel and she’s had to save the day more than once during an important game.

At the 2015 world cup, for instance, Rene had the crucial task of managing then Bok captain Jean de Villiers’ recurring knee injury so he could continue leading his side on the field.

“This is my third world cup and I’m extremely excited,” Rene tells YOU shortly before the squad’s departure for Japan. She’s been a Bok physio for 10 years and has brought new techniques in conditioning and injury rehabilitation to the table.

Rene, one of three Springbok physios, runs two practices in Cape Town and is a single mom to a six-year-old boy – all this on top of spending up to six months a year travelling the world with the national team.