Hayden Hann (centre) with Benfica team mates in Portugal.
Hayden Hann (centre) with Benfica team mates in Portugal.
Hayden Hann's dream to play rugby in Europe may have turned into a bit of a nightmare, but he's not about to push the snooze button yet.
Hayden played Hawke's Bay rugby for around eight years, including seasons with the Napier Pirates and the Magpies, before turning European dream into reality.
"I got in touch with some agents in France and Spain. I had a few different offers come through from other countries, however I knew some people that had played in Portugal and really enjoyed their time here."
Hayden says the Benfica recruiter made contact after checking out his rugby highlights.
"They offered me a contract. The main reason I accepted this offer was because I had a mate from Hawke's Bay who was also playing for the team this season."
Hayden and girlfriend Chelsea moved to Portugal at the end of August last year and have been living in an apartment in Benfica, Lisbon, paid for by the club.
"There were two other players from New Zealand living here and one other partner which made five of us. It takes about 15 minutes on the Metro to get into the city centre."
Before leaving New Zealand, Hayden had worked as a physiotherapist for Cape Physio in Napier and other clinics around Hawke's Bay since 2016. He's had to shelve those skills while overseas, limiting any physio to himself and flatmates.
"We have a clinic at the Benfica stadium that has phsyios and doctors - I've had plenty of messages from back home since the physios shut."
Hayden says SL Benfica is the largest club in Portugal.
"They are known for football and recently sold a football player for over €120 million.
Rugby is still an up-and-coming sport in Portugal as is usually put behind most other sports, which is a strange feeling coming from the New Zealand rugby culture."
Hayden describes life in Portugal as very relaxed, and says it didn't take too long to adjust to a different training schedule.
"When people talk about 'island time' that's nothing compared to 'Portuguese time'. They are a very relaxed culture where it seems no one is in a hurry to do anything, except driving - that's pretty erratic."
He says it's usual for people to sleep in until lunchtime and party until the early hours.
"It's definitely been an adjustment but we are loving it."
Pre-lockdown, Hayden's schedule from Monday to Friday involved a late start, before going to the gym from noon until 2pm, lunch at the stadium, chill for a few hours, then field training from 9pm until 11pm - and then dinner. Wednesday was a day off.
"It took a bit of adjustment training so late but soon adapted and it feels normal now."
Club games were played on Saturdays at 3pm, the same as New Zealand, but get-togethers after games were different.
"Most clubs do not have clubrooms therefore they do not have after match functions. This means after the game we showered and headed home, which felt strange coming from the New Zealand culture of getting into your number ones and going for a beer and speeches."
Hawke's Bay rugby player Hayden Hann with girlfriend Chelsea Mohi in Portugal.
Life in lockdown has meant further adjustments, with a weekly video call from the club president and co-ordinator, daily workouts in the apartment using bodyweight and cardio, HIIT workouts and a couple of runs, he says.
"Not being able to go to the gym and run around the rugby field has been hard. But we've established a good routine at home where we are working out at least once a day, however it's not the same as getting to the gym."
The rest of their flatmates returned to New Zealand just before the borders closed so Hayden and Chelsea are enjoying the apartment to themselves, engineering a bit of Kiwi ingenuity along the way.
"It's been great. We turned one of the spare rooms into a makeshift gym consisting of 5kg dishwashing liquid containers and chucking Chels on my back to add in some weights."
Hayden and Chelsea have also had to rely on others to break through the language barrier while in lockdown.
''Given we don't speak Portuguese well, knowing what the exact rules are is a challenge.
We have been relying on the club and friends to keep us informed. Given this, we just try to avoid going out as much as possible except for our daily walk around the block. We also have a rooftop where we can escape to get some fresh air. We're not allowed to travel between cities but public transport is still running as essential workers need to get to work, etc.
Pastelarias, which are bakeries, are open, as well as small cafes but only selling takeaway food and drink. We often see old men in small groups drinking coffee or beer outside local cafes as they would normally have done inside the cafes."
Hayden says Portugal isn't going through the same alert levels as in New Zealand but has been in a 'state of emergency' since lockdown began.
"They have said they will loosen restrictions as of May 3."
Going to the supermarket once every two weeks has also been a challenge, but they are grateful to have some small vege shops and mini markets on their street to pop out to when they need. They are also missing their friends.
"We would usually go out for dinner once a week and have people around for dinners at our place but they have stopped."
A planned trip further afield has also been put on the backburner.
"We had three months of travel booked and paid for during the European summer but due to Covid-19 we have had to cancel. We have managed to see a bit of Portugal, which has been great," he said.
"Some of our games are played outside of Lisbon so it's a great opportunity to turn that into a long weekend which gets to include some sightseeing but have also been able to slip away for a couple of days here and there to explore a bit more."
But now the couple may be seeing a bit more of Europe after all. With the club's rugby budget cut dramatically, Hayden was looking at returning home soon. But in the last couple of days things have changed.
"I have been getting some contract offers in Spain. So will need to make that decision very soon. But we might be spending the European summer in Barcelona as one of the clubs is based there."
In the meantime, the couple feel safe and are grateful to be where they are.
"Most people wear face masks and gloves and keep their distance when out and about. We are also super vigilant with hand sanitiser. We have really nice neighbours who have been checking in on us as well."
