Family helps Speight back to form
A brief return "home" proved to be the catalyst in helping Wallaby wing Henry Speight return to his best form this season in the Brumbies' win over the Bulls.
Speight ran in two tries in a Man of the Match performance on Friday and revealed that seeing his family in Fiji, during his side's bye-round after returning from South Africa, was a blessing and contributed to the barnstorming wing feeling relaxed heading into the Bulls match.
"I guess just being a bit more relaxed. That refreshed mindset after the bye, just going home and seeing a bit of family and seeing a close relative of mine in hospital was a bit of a wake-up call and made me think of those people worse off compared to my situation.
"So I decided to come back and play for them and I think just a bit more relaxed and a bit chilled going into the game," a reflective Speight told the Brumbies website.
The Test wing also said that he was happy to have seen more of the ball and was thankful for the ball distribution of departing scrumhalf, Nic White.
"Yeah it was pretty good thanks to Whitey [Nic White], it's just good to be more involved especially at the back end of the season and it's good to be scoring tries as well.
"They loved it [Speight's family]. I loved crossing the line as well, but it's all for the team and for the fans and for the organisation," he added.
While happy with his own form of late, Speight recognised the importance of turning up at training before the challenge against the Force.
"The Force, at this time of year, is a very dangerous side at home and their main focus usually is to knock teams off running into finals and we're well aware of that. We cannot take them lightly – especially at home.
"We'll try and cover everything this week and leave no stone unturned," he stated.
After getting the better of his opponent last weekend, Speight will this weekend have to contend with another Test player, Nick Cummins.
@BrumbiesRugby
