How to deal with frustration if rugby is your passion, but you are not allowed to leave the house to sidestep and tackle?

The easy option is to feel sorry for one. That is, however, not what The Delta Drone TuksWomensRugby7's players are doing. It has been decided come what may the ball will not be dropped.  

To prove their commitment during the coronavirus pandemic, they are busy making a video in which the ball is being virtually passed from Tuks all over South Africa before being passed to France then Romania going on to Ukraine and finally back to Pretoria. 

Why? Riaan van der Merwe (TuksWomensRugby7's head coach) describes it as a show of unity. 

"Over the last few years, Tuks has sort of become an international team. We have quite a few European players. The idea is to show our passion and commitment despite not being able to play. 

"The former captain of France's women's sevens team Johanna Barde is currently stuck in a small apartment in France. The same goes for Maryna Borodina in Ukraine and Andreea Atomi in Romania. They are all playing for Tuks.

"Things are not that different in Pretoria. It has been nearly four weeks since we last had a formal training session.  

"We were scheduled to play two tournaments in France and one in Spain, but all have been postponed. The Oktoberfest Tournament in Munchen has been cancelled. There is a real chance that we might only compete in two tournaments."

Over the past three years, Tuks had won two tournaments in France as well as winning the Oktoberfest Tournament. Last year they managed to beat France's national side. 

The last thing Tuks's captain Libbie Janse van Rensburg wants is for her teammates is to get despondent during these difficult times. 

"It is essential to remain active. The players should realise the coronavirus pandemic will come to an end and that sport will resume. At the moment no teams can train. It is, however, no excuse to become a couch potato. Now is the time to get an advantage on other teams. So it is important to keep on training."

Janse van Rensburg is leading by example. She built herself a whole home gym by filling various containers with water and using them as weights. As part of her fitness regime, she also clobbers a tire with a massive hammer before going on to spar four rounds at a time against a punching bag. Skipping rope for minutes on end also forms part of her morning training program. 

In the afternoon, she works to improve her passes and kicks using a massive net.

"I pretend to be the best, but I train like I am the worst," is the motto she uses to keep herself motivated daily.