With less than a month left of what has been a Covid-19-induced makeshift preseason, Namibia-born South Africa-raised Van der Smit conceded it took a couple of weeks to acclimatise to training solo during government restrictions.

“As of right now, we’re back to training in small groups and they’ve been working us hard. It’s the strongest I’ve felt in my whole life,” he said.

“I’m a routine-based type of person, so the [Hong Kong Rugby Union’s Elite Rugby Programme] was perfect because they tell you when to come, what to do, and when to leave – so you push your hardest within the framework. [The Covid-19] situation was a spanner in the works. They give you a programme but you wake up in the morning and go ‘I’ll do it later’; later comes and you go ‘I’ll do it tonight’; tonight comes and it’s ‘let me just get this done’. The discipline took time to get used to but the Union created a flexible platform for us as long as we got the work done.”

Returning to the field after months away is certainly welcome but – as with all sports making a comeback – there will naturally be some ring-rust.

“I think the first two games the boys will be looking to dust off the lungs a bit. There’s always a difference between ‘running fit’ and ‘game fit’, so the first two games are always the slowest, or highest-scoring, or has the highest penalty counts. But after two games it’ll be like we never left,” van der Smit said.

If previous season trajectories are anything to go by, the flanker-cum-number eight will likely thrive if played his favoured position. Van der Smit’s award-winning campaign with Sandy Bay was preceded by a debut season where coach Brett Wilkinson was forced to play him in the unfamiliar role of centre.

“My first season out here was probably the toughest in my whole life. The conditions are so different to back home, and the team had a couple of players who were meant to come from overseas but pulled out, which forced me to play a completely different position.

“It put a dent on the quality of my play and I wasn’t playing to my full potential. I was kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place – it was a ‘do-it-for-the-team’ moment. When the next season came along, we got the backline we needed and I could go back to my original position. I needed to prove myself and put my stamp in Hong Kong. It wouldn’t have been possible without that team, though.”

Van der Smit, who moved from Namibia to South Africa aged five, earned a scholarship at a renowned rugby high school before playing for the University of Pretoria Tuks, Western Province, Eastern Province Kings, and a short stint with the South Africa sevens team.

Despite formally agreeing to play in the European leagues, the move fell through at the last minute, leaving van der Smit stranded. “I had a whole deal lined up, all my eggs in one basket. The contracting season in South Africa was already done and everyone had finalised their budgets and players. I was stuck in limbo and thought ‘what do I do now?’”

“Liam went to the same school and coached me a little bit at university,” Van der Smith said of his club teammate. “I spoke to him and he gave me the all clears. Then I spoke to the coach. We arrived at the same time and I haven’t looked back since.”

Now entering his prime years, van der Smit is thrilled to rejoin his teammates for the big league and championship push which hopefully, in turn, opens the door to a Hong Kong national team call-up.

“Definitely, my goal is the next World Cup [2023]. But within that comes the small process that leads to the end result. We’re training really hard and going all out until we can’t go to make sure everything working,” he said.

“Every year, it just seems like the level gets taken up such a huge notch. It’s so good to see in terms of Hong Kong making it to the next World Cup. The new influx of players helps Hong Kong rugby as a whole. I can’t wait to see what it’s going to be like in five years. It’s going to be out of this world.”