Hull KR's NRL recruit on arriving to life in lockdown

The Australian prop, who has joined on a two-year deal from St George-Illawarra, only arrived in East Yorkshire last week but almost immediately saw the country put in a national lockdown.

With snow and ice gripping the region, too, it is all a far cry from the sunny climes of Sydney and a country that has dealt with the threat of Covid-19 far better.

Nevertheless, the Fiji international has embraced the situation here and, having been part of the Dragons bio-secure bubble last season, knows all about what life with restrictions entail.

Sims, 29, said: “It’s been quite enjoyable, actually.

“It’s a new country, a new feeling and a new weather climate.

“I’m really taking it in my stride because I’ve only been to the UK once before for a limited amount of time.

“I actually thought it was going to be a lot worse when I came over to Hull initially.

“I asked a couple of people what we’re allowed to do and they told me you can still go out and do whatever you need to do, it was just a case of non-essential businesses being closed.

“I didn’t have a car for the first week I was here so I was doing a lot of walking around the city.

“I got out into the climate and the community - even though no-one knew who I was because of the face mask!

“I did get around a little bit and got to see a portion of Hull.

“I’m looking forward to this Covid situation thinning out and getting businesses back open because they’re so crucial to the economy.

“And it will be great to get fans back to our stadium because I want to see Craven Park rocking.”

That aforementioned previous experience was at the 2013 World Cup when Sims - starting at loose forward - played alongside brothers Ashton and Tariq in the Fiji side that lost 34-12 to England at Hull’s KCOM Stadium.

Elder brother Ashton, the towering prop who played under current Rovers coach Tony Smith at Warrington Wolves before moving to Toronto Wolfpack, was pleased to see him make the decision to try out Super League.

“I picked his and his wife Nicole’s brains because they were over here for such an extended period of time,” said Sims, who is one of a number of high-profile recruits as Rovers bid to turn things around in 2021 after finishing bottom last term.

“I really appreciated what they told me and they were excited for me. With training, it has been our full first week of pre-season and Tony is making his mark known about the direction of the club and where we want to go as a team.

“He hasn’t touched on last year much because we’ve got a couple of new faces coming into the squad so he wants to stay away from that and focus on ourselves moving into 2021, the season starting on March 11 and taking care of our performance.”

Having an experienced player of Sims’ ilk - he has almost 150 NRL appearances to his name and was on the verge of Queensland State of Nation selection in 2015 - will clearly aid Rovers’ cause.

They have also added England winger Ryan Hall from Sydney Roosters, Parramatta Eels’ Brad Takairangi and Melbourne Storm prop Albert Vete from Down Under with Smith going for quality rather than quantity in his recruitment plans for 2021.

Sims, who also played with Newcastle Knights and Brisbane Broncos, is looking to get going again after breaking his arm in each of the last two seasons and for a third time in his career.

“The last time I did it in the Nines last year there was obviously frustration there purely because I know it’s a real pain,” he said, having been left in tears as he departed the pitch.

“It’s a broken arm. What can you do? You can’t fix it straight away. It takes time to fix and it’s one of those things where it is in the back of your mind.

“But I’m not going to change the way I play. I try to play the game as hard and as fast as I can and the best I can. If there’s an injury in the way you can work with it or around it but you just have to get on with it.

“Once the adrenaline is flowing and the game is in the swing of things, you don’t think about it.

“I’ve got a pad on there now but I’ve done that since the first one.

“I’m looking forward to the next couple of weeks and hopefully all of us boys stay fit and healthy and we can put on a show this season.”

After years of strife for their club, Rovers fans will certainly be hoping the same.