VIDEO: Never-say-die Am happy to be back
VIDEO: Lukhanyo Am is back in from the cold and ready to face Portugal but he says it has been a topsy-turvy time for him battling injury and being back with a struggling Sharks team.
The 30-year-old centre, once regarded as the best in the business in his position, was well on his way to the World Cup when he suffered a devastating knee injury in a warm-up game against Argentina in August last year.
A lifeline was thrown to him when he was called to France to replace the injured Makazole Mapimpi, but sadly he never played a single minute in the World Cup.
Back at home with the Sharks in Durban, another challenging time followed with the Durbanites experiencing one of their worst seasons and plummeting to the bottom of the United Rugby Championship table.
Then another injury kept him out of the final of the Challenge Cup against Gloucester.
On Wednesday this week Am fronted the media in Bloemfontein, back in the Springbok fold and ready to rekindle his midfield partnership with Andre Esterhuizen.
“The past 24 months at the Springboks has had its ups and downs in terms of injuries.
“I am really delighted to be back in the group and getting the opportunity to be playing again and excited to catch up with the new coaching style we want to play,” the centre said.
Asked if there was a time when he thought he might not get selected by the Springboks again, Am nodded, saying: “It’s been up and down.
“It’s part of the game, injuries do happen. It’s just working and getting back to where you were.
“I think me being here, it’s a good sign that I tried my best and giving myself the opportunity to get called up again.”
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He now finds himself surrounded by a host of new faces as Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus starts bleeding in youngsters for the next four-year cycle until the next World Cup.
“The nice thing about having fresh blood in the squad is the energy.
“I think the guys bring the energy, they slotted in nicely and there is a lot of excitement in the group.
“We also do understand that we are a new group, individually and in terms of uncapped players and also the structure we are trying to play.
“There is a lot of excitement in the group, there will be nerves from the uncapped players and guys with small caps, but we will look past that,” he said about the Test against Portugal this weekend.
“It’s one thing we’ve managed to do as a squad with having healthy competition and having depth.
“It keeps you as a player accountable, to bring your A-game all the time and making sure you are doing your preparation correctly and the best version of yourself in training and on game day.
“It’s a big game for Portugal, playing the world champs at their home ground.”
Am was asked about the influence of new assistant coach Tony Brown within the Springbok set-up and the new style of play he is starting to inject.
“We’ve always tried to evolve our game.
“We are still trying to master the style of play and grow in the attacking style of play.
“So for me having my first outing, I’m looking forward to being involved in the attacking style of rugby that we want to play.
“We’ve only played three games, it will click at some point,” Am said.
He added that the alignment camps gave the players some kind of intro into what Brown had planned for the Boks.
“It’s something that is going to need action on the field and cohesion on attack,” Am explained.
“It will take time but I think the sooner we gel and click we will be a dangerously attacking team.
“It’s another opportunity for us to rectify and grow our game.
“We focus more on ourselves and we drive our standards, regardless of who we are playing.
“That’s how we will go out there.
“We will try and impose our game plan on whoever we play, and it’s up to them if they allow us to be as good as we want to be,” he concluded.
