Alu appreciates leaving month-long quarantine

SP Hunters forward Ila Alu says it is a “huge privilege” to be based on the Gold Coast for the 2021 Queensland Intrust Super Cup (ISC) season after spending a month in quarantine in Papua New Guinea and Brisbane.
“It’s good to be here now,” the 25-year-old told QRL.com at Runaway Bay, where coach Matthew Church’s men will be based.
“It has been a long process for us to get here.
“It’s a big relief for us to finally get together and train as a unit after being in isolation for almost a month.
“We’re ready to compete in the ISC this season.”
Asked what life was like in isolation, the lock said: “At first, we thought that it would be a (smooth) transition for us as we were scheduled to travel on Jan 31.
“But unfortunately, we got delayed a bit because our proposed isolation here at Runaway Bay got declined by Queensland Health, so we had to stay another week.
“And then there were some medical issues and it was decided for us to stay in isolation for two weeks (in Port Moresby), so it ended up being a tough transition for us to train individually.
“But to finally get the approval to come here is a massive relief for us.
“We knew that we would be in isolation for another two weeks, but full credit to the team that was working behind the scenes to get some gear approved for us to use in our rooms.
“The equipment helped us a lot with our training programmes to keep fit.
“It’s a relief for us to be finally out (of quarantine).”
Alu said pairing up while in quarantine had helped the players keep themselves busy.
“Whenever we felt lonely, we always had some to hold a good conversation and laugh with,” he said.
“It kept us from worrying too much about home. It also enabled us to push each other to keep fit.”