Beard back after appendix drama

WALES forward Adam Beard admits it was ‘very lucky’ he didn’t get on the plane to Japan with the rest of the squad — as his appendix was about to burst. The second-row forward, 23, spoke yesterday about his emergency procedure which made him miss the opening two World Cup matches. He was set to travel to Japan with the rest of the team four weeks ago and got as far as Heathrow before getting a bus back to Cardiff for surgery. ‘I’m very lucky I didn’t get on that plane,’ said Beard, now in Japan and preparing for next Wednesday’s match against Fiji. ‘That could have been dangerous. The doctors were all saying they would probably have had to get the plane to make an emergency landing.’ Beard felt stomach cramps the day before Wales’ departure on September 11 and took some tablets to ease the pain on the bus to the airport. On arrival, team doctor Geoff Davies made a vital call: Beard was not fit to fly and he needed emergency surgery to remove his appendix. ‘I had a bus to myself on the way back, a big 52-seater! It drove up to the A&E entrance and I got out on my own. ‘I honestly thought nothing of it the night before. I thought maybe I’d got a bit of a bug or even a bit of trapped wind. I had a scan first to see if there was anything going on, but because it got pretty bad when I was in there I went straight in and was operated on straight away.’ Disaster averted, Beard then set his mind on returning to fitness and the squad in time to play at the World Cup. Having lost nearly a stone in weight he had to pile on the pounds to get back to 18½ stone — ‘I’m doubling up on everything now at every meal! I’ve been smashing the sushi’ — while appeasing his parents, Melanie and Paul. ‘My mother is a worrier anyway. But my old man was like, “Come on man, it’s only an appendix — get out there!”’ While the Wales squad are happy to have Beard back, they have still put him in his place. ‘When I arrived, the boys were going out to training,’ he said. ‘I was hoping that when I arrived they would already have gone and I wouldn’t have seen any of them. They all saw me, I had a rinsing. ‘I got fined for being late on tour, losing weight, and wearing the wrong kit. ‘It’s the World Cup, but I thought I could come casual. Obviously not! It was three big fines my way!’