Everyone at the Wellington Redbacks is eager to start the hard work of defending last year's drought-breaking title win, but this year they'll have to do a lot more than just win games to go back to back.
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Newly crowned head coach Sam Webster is still reeling in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown that threatened to put the entire 2020 season to an end, and still doesn't have clear guidance if his side will play this year.
"Because of the whole virus issue, it makes doing anything extremely hard," Webster said.
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"We've got a lot of things to consider with how we're training and the whole contact situation, how we meet and even small things like going to the pub for a drink as a team after training, it's all coming into play."
"It's all been made very hard."
The wait until June 29 for a final verdict on whether the Central West Rugby Union competitions will take place is also taking it's toll, with Webster saying it's 'hard to explain' just how much of an impact the uncertainty has had on the team's mindset.
"The mood's a bit strange, it's all gone a bit quiet," Webster said.
"I was really enjoying how our pre-season was going, we were getting a lot of the guys down to training regularly and we were just starting to get a bit more serious when this whole thing hit," Webster said.
"At the end of the day, we couldn't play and that's a big blow, I've just had to adjust, stay focused and we all have to get on with it as best we can."
A huge crowd turned out to watch the Redbacks and the Goats battle it out in last year's grand final, with wet weather and cold conditions not able to keep the fans away as the heated rivals made for one of the best games in recent memory.
While Webster hadn't yet taken the coaching reins from Greg 'Snow' Brien at the time, the responsibility to defend that title win is still at the forefront of his mind.
"If we find out that we can't play on June 29, it'd really be difficult for everyone in the town, not getting to defend that premiership, that would be painful," Webster said.
But at the same time, his team of champions aren't eager to rush back to the field for something that doesn't resemble a complete season.
"You want everyone on board who wants to play and you want to get out there, but you don't want something half-hearted and rushed," Webster said.
"You can't award a real premiership by doing half or maybe even a quarter of a season, it just wouldn't really be the same."
"If we can get the team and play some social footy, that'd be really great for everyone."
