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Ireland rugby international Leah Lyons only had to wait one day to receive a response to her job application at Tesco.
The Cork-born prop is based in the Guildford area of London during the Covid-19 lockdown, not far from where his rugby club plays with Harlequins.
With his domestic season now over, and the Six Nations on hiatus since his last outing against England, Lyons is using this time to effectively prepare for the upcoming season. She has a few gymnastic teams at home where she is organizing the sessions alongside her housemates who also play for Harlequins.
“We got someone to do a squat rack for us, so we flew around the place,” Lyons tells RTÉ Sport about his alternative training regimen.
But there are only so many repetitions and exercises that Lyons can complete to fill his days. With no international club or games to look forward to in the immediate future, I knew I had to find another project at the start of the coronavirus epidemic.
She applied for seven store jobs around Guildford before Tesco contacted her for a position.
“I needed to get a job this year after [the] Six Nations finished, “he explains.
“It was going to happen, I was going to have to get a job to stay on the financial side.”
“They [Tesco] We were looking for a lot of people, so basically I put a CV in one day and the next day they called and asked if I could get in. I was delighted. It keeps me ticking and gives me something else to do while we’re all locked up and isolated. “
Lyons is stationed on Tesco’s click-and-pick service. This online shopping mode primarily serves elderly customers and those who are most vulnerable to coronavirus and therefore cannot enter the store to pick up their food.
They select the items they want from the Tesco website, and Lyons’ job is to collect them in time for collection.
“Their [the shopping] picked up in the morning and put on baskets, “he says, explaining his work day that can start as early as 6 am.
“They give us a name when they come to the store and we’ll go get their purchases. They put it in their car and we remove the baskets to make it a continuous cycle of people per day.”
Small things are sometimes many
Supermarkets and other grocery stores are among the few companies that are still open at this time. Maintaining social distance measurements can be challenging as shoppers enter and leave the premises, but similar to precautions taken in Ireland, the Tesco branch of Lyons has two-meter distance markings throughout the store and hand sanitizer for everyone.
Lyons is essentially a front-line worker, and she understands the responsibility that goes with it. That sense of compassion and diligence has not gone unnoticed either. A buyer even left a tip for her and a colleague after taking advantage of the click-and-collect service recently.
“Little things are sometimes a lot,” he said in a tweet about the kind gesture.
But there is no place to bond with buyers. Even in the company of its most vulnerable customers, everyone’s health and safety take priority.
“We have been instructed to take all possible precautions,” says Lyons about obeying social distancing rules at work.
“You stay away from even asking their names. You can chat with them [but] obviously you keep your distance. Everyone is trying to stay safe and well so that everyone does their best for themselves.
I started working last week at Tescos, something that made me smile, a man after collecting his purchases from us, told us that he left a tip in a basket from which he took his purchases for me and my coworker. much #working together # cool pic.twitter.com/g5IgPRnGvN
– Leah Lyons (@LEAH__LYONZ) April 9, 2020
“But people appreciate it and like I said [in that tweet]That man really appreciated it and left us a tip that was a little crazy but nice to watch. They appreciate it. People who say ‘thank you’ and ‘you’re doing a great job’. But at the end of the day, we are just working.
“Reaching out to us might be their only face-to-face interaction per day. For some people, it might be the best they have if they don’t have anyone around.”
“I think everyone is doing their part right now to help this pandemic try to come to an agreement.”
Like many other athletes, the coronavirus has come at an inconvenient time for Lyons. Having gone through some injury issues, she was getting back in shape and she was eager to buy some time for Harlequins.
He has enjoyed his time at the club since joining his ranks prior to the 2019 Tyrrells Premier 15s season. The London-based team is one of the best teams in the competition. They reached the Premier 15 final last year and were second at the table before the season was recently canceled, just two points from the Saracen starters.
Lyons was joined by other Irish representatives at the club, including his housemate, and 2013 Grand Slam of the Nations winner Gill Bourke. Anna Caplice is also with Quins having previously played for Richmond.
Everything related to sports has stalled for the moment, but Lyons is happy to wait for normality to return in time. Home training and regular contact with her family in Ireland keep her busy.
And his work at Tesco has balanced his life when he needed it most.
“It gives you something else to focus on.”
“I didn’t know anyone who got into it, so it’s like finding new people, different places to work and a different environment. They are a good crowd there, it’s a good atmosphere.”
“Everybody does their part and keeps it running smoothly. I think that’s also a huge thing. I have my time there, my time at home with the other three girls and it’s a break from it all.”
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