TAINE’S EYES ON SUMMER TARGET
IT has been a turbulent first season in Wales for Taine Plumtree, but the Scarlets man hopes it ends with a place in Warren Gatland’s squad to tour Australia this summer.
Almost immediately after signing for the Scarlets from the Aucklandbased Blues, the Swansea-born forward joined up with the Wales squad in Switzerland for the first of two Rugby World Cup training camps.
After an impressive Test debut as a second-half replacement in the victory over England in Cardiff, Plumtree dislocated his shoulder in the reverse fixture at Twickenham.
Plumtree missed out on Wales’s final World Cup squad, but after opting not to have surgery on his shoulder he was left with no choice but to go under the knife after taking a nasty knock last autumn.
“It was a bit of an untimely injury but that’s just what rugby is,” he said.
“It’s a contact sport and it comes with the game. I knew I had to get it. The five months did go quick but I missed a lot of rugby in that time.
“I’m just stoked that I’m back now and I’m feeling good.
“For the first three weeks I couldn’t do much. I wasn’t able to sweat because they didn’t want it to get infected.
“The first two weeks I went to England to spend some time with my family in Surrey just to get a bit of TLC while I was pretty much on a couch and in bed. After that during the Christmas period I was able to get into return-to-play sessions.
“For about 10 weeks I was pretty much training five times a week.
“I found that I was even more busy with training that I am when I’m fit during the season.
“It’s all really specific rehab with gym, running and working with the physio and trainers to modify to my own stuff.”
Plumtree made his first appearance for five months in the Scarlets’ 43-18 defeat to Edinburgh. The athletic 24-year-old is highly thought of by the Wales management and was name-checked by Gatland during the Six Nations as a potential option for summer Tests against South Africa at Twickenham and a two-test series against the Wallabies in Australia.
“That summer tour is in the back of my mind a little bit,” said Plumtree.
“It’s nice that I get these games to hopefully get my groove back and start playing some decent footy again before that side gets selected.
“I was up against a lot of good loose forwards and that’s why I think I didn’t make it really. I was able to play about six weeks after I did that injury.
“There’s a lot of good loose forwards in that set-up and I think I just missed out which is quite unfortunate. I can’t imagine the injury helped my case too much unfortunately.
“I haven’t really chatted to Gats
since that pre-world Cup stint I had. My main focus has been my stuff around the Scarlets (but) I got some encouraging words once I left camp.
“I haven’t really been in touch with any of them since.”