Leeds Rhinos players received motivational speeches from men who have overcome great tragedy last week.
The Rhinos players joined a Zoom chat and heard the stories of Dan Cross and Efrem Brynin, who are both known for being contestants on the popular TV show ‘SAS: Who Dares Wins’.
Cross heard his wife being stabbed to death trying to protect her children from a crazed intruder during a phone call with her in 2015, while Brynin lost his son while on duty in Afghanistan.
The pair are now directors of StrongMen, a charity that helps men deal with the emotional and mental health challenges of bereavement.
Rhinos prop Dom Crosby is a patron of the charity after he endured his own tragedy when his baby daughter, Ada, passed away shortly after her birth in 2017.
The pair spoke to the players before taking questions from the Rhinos’ playing group.
“We all zoomed in and the guys told their stories,” head coach Richard Agar said.
“They are incredible people with incredible stories and incredible families who have gone through some very testing times.
“We learnt some terrific lessons about how they’ve come through those tragedies and it was very inspiring for all of us.
“It was also great to see everybody together and to catch up. We are going to try and do something every week on a social level so we can all keep in touch.”
Agar went on to praise his players for their efforts during the lockdown.
“Our boys have been pretty good. Furlough rules mean we can’t do much regarding training, but they’ve all been inventive and used it as a time to make sure they’re eating, training and sleeping well.
“They are investing in themselves, especially a couple of the younger guys. Harry (Newman) has moved into a new house, so he’s done bits around the house, while he’s cooking for himself and so on, doing things he would perhaps not have had much time to do otherwise.
“It’s a chance to self-develop, it’s a tough situation, but a lot of the guys are using their time productively.”
