Franks bounces back
Owen Franks accepted surgery was inevitable when the painkillers failed to do their job.
For five years the All Blacks tighthead prop, who will make his first Super Rugby appearance of the year when the Crusaders play the Sunwolves in Christchurch tomorrow night, put up with discomfort in both Achilles tendons.
Medication helped numb the pain until he finally came to the realisation he could not longer ignore the symptoms. So it was after his 95th test for the All Blacks, against the Wallabies in Sydney last August, that Franks, 30, decided to ask a surgeon to fix the problem.
‘‘It got to the point where I said ‘I am not doing my job properly at training’. You are trying to take too many painkillers and anti-inflams to get things right and they really had no effect in the end,’’ Franks said.
An operation on his left Achilles was imminent. He also required extensive rehab on his other leg, too. Until he played for his Linwood club in recent weeks, Franks had to spend almost eight months away from the sport.
Now, if all goes to plan, he will be good to go for the test series against France in June.
‘‘The pain-scale of what I was dealing with before [the operation] – it wasn’t even close,’’ he said after getting 50 minutes for Linwood.
‘‘Probably I really started noticing it in 2013. It [the pain] would come on every now and then, flare up. And then over the last two or three years, consistently. Annoying.’’
Getting the opportunity to spend more time with his young family was appreciated. So, too, was the chance to enjoy being a supporter of the national rugby team.
‘‘When the All Blacks were playing it kind of gave me the chance to be a fan again, you sort of realise what the All Blacks mean to New Zealanders. So that was kind of cool; you actually look forward to the game and watching it with the family.
‘‘But there was the other part of it – when the jealous side comes out, and you wish you were there as well.’’
During his time in the rehabmode, Franks worked on increasing the strength in his calves and working on the ‘‘mechanics’’ of his running style.
Although veteran hooker Dane Coles won’t be available to play France because he is still recovering from the knee surgery he had last summer, there is a chance Franks could partner Crusaders team-mate Joe Moody in the test series.
Moody, who hasn’t played this year and is not expected to return from a finger injury for around a month, hopes to make at least a couple of appearances in Super Rugby in May.
Not surprisingly, Franks said he yearned for the physicality of banging bodies in training and during games: ‘‘That is the part you miss. You feel like you have actually done a decent day’s work.
‘‘I was pretty grateful to NZ Rugby as well, to be able to still get paid well and have that time to rehabilitate.’’
Meanwhile, Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has grabbed the chance to rotate his side against the win-less Sunwolves and All Black Israel Dagg makes his comeback from a knee problem to start on the wing. Nine changes have been made to the team that started in the 40-14 win over the Jaguares on April 8. Skipper Sam Whitelock has been rested, and Matt Todd will lead the side instead.