Lachlan Connors has put blood, sweat and tears into his time at Bond University.
But he prefers to dwell on all the things he’s taken out.
He undertook his Bachelor of Exercise Science on a John Eales Rugby Excellence Scholarship and returned to complete his Master of Nutrition and Dietetic Practice on a sports leadership scholarship.
And this year he was named captain of the Bond University rugby club.
When he tossed his mortarboard into the air as part of the 232 graduating cohort on Friday, it marked five years since he first stepped foot on campus.
“It has been a very busy five years, playing sport on the side as well, so plenty of go, go, go and not much down time, but it has really been life-changing for me,” he said.
“The support from the Bond Sport office, the coaching staff at the rugby club and everything we have access to here, it is incredible.
“And I was fortunate enough to be a John Eales scholar, thanks to Terry Jackman for funding that, he does a lot for the rugby club.’’
Connors is far from finished with the Bull Sharks and just maybe, the classroom also.
“I think I’m going to go out and get some work in, but who knows what the future holds, especially with the PhD offerings here at Bond,” he said.
“I want to stay at Bond, I feel part of the community here, especially at the rugby club.”
Connors arrived at Bond with well-established sporting credentials.
In 2017 he was St Patrick’s College vice-captain and captain of the First XV rugby side. That year he represented Queensland in the National Schoolboys Rugby Championships, was chosen in the Australian Schoolboys Rugby team, and was awarded the Ian MacMillan trophy, presented each year to the best Queensland schoolboy player.
His sporting interests extend beyond rugby, and he also represented St Patrick’s in volleyball, swimming and basketball.
If it involves teams or individuals competing against each other in an athletic pursuit, he’s interested.
“I’m hoping one day to work with an elite sporting team or organisation, potentially even at the Australia Institute of Sport, where I can use my dietetic degree,” he said.
If the five years of hitting the books sounds hard, the 633 days between games of rugby as he battled to overcome a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula in his right leg, was positively brutal.
He spent a week in hospital following the injury against Sunnybank in round 9, 2020, and underwent three separate surgeries.
Surgeons needed to clean out the fracture site and insert a steel rod and four screws and then perform a pulmonary fat embolism as a result of the bone break.
After five months in a moon boot and with crutches, the rehabilitation process began.
“I was re-learning how to walk properly and at the 10-month mark I slowly started running again,” he said.
“But I wasn't able to run more than 10 minutes before my leg would swell and be too painful which finally led me to the fourth and final surgery to remove the rod and plate.”
Finally, six weeks shy of two years since his injury, he returned to the pitch, playing 40 minutes in third grade against Wests last year.
He returned to the first grade side, coming off the bench in the final game of last year, and on the eve of this season, Bull Sharks coach Grant Anderson had no hesitation naming him captain.
“Lachie is a competitor. He is always looking for ways to improve himself and the team,” Anderson said.
“He has high expectations of the playing group and drives the players to be better.
“Lachie has shown enormous resilience coming back from injury. He puts in 100 per cent every game and the players respect that.
“He leads by example on the field and lifts everyone around him.”