I THOUGHT I’D NEVER PLAY AGAIN
Lions hero Leigh Halfpenny reveals injury agony ahead of Wales return
THERE were two options for Leigh Halfpenny’s surgeon: cut away the patellar tendon and risk a lifetime of chronic knee pain or cut away the hamstring and jeopardise the kicking ability that makes him one of rugby’s most valuable commodities.
The medical procedure was riddled with complications. On the darkest days of his nine-month rehabilitation, the Wales full back even feared that his reconstructed anterior cruciate ligament could spell the end of his playing career.
It is 427 days since Halfpenny suffered the horror injury in the World Cup warm-up against Italy but his year of pain is finally over. He is back where he belongs — wearing the scars of his corrective surgery in today’s autumn series opener against Australia.
‘There were times when you think, “Am I going to get back on the field?”’ said Halfpenny. ‘You ask, “Why is it still puffing up? Why is it still sore?” I would try to jump but the spring in my knee would just feel like a dead weight.
‘We basically had to get the knee as straight as possible. Sometimes you’d have the physio putting all his weight on your knee and you’d just be there on the bed in agony.
‘I’m just over the moon to be playing after such a long spell away. I was absolutely delighted to hear my name read out to start. I’ve missed it. I’ve missed it a lot.’
Having sacrificed his body for the cause, the 27- year- old from Gorseinon will return straight to the No 15 jersey in Cardiff this afternoon because of an injury to Liam Williams.
It is a rare break for Halfpenny who, back in the south of France, watched on TV as Williams’s stock went through the roof with his star showings on the tour of New Zealand.
‘I watched the first game at Ma’a Nonu’s house,’ said Halfpenny, who is Toulon team-mates with the World Cup- winning All Black centre. ‘Liam was fantastic. Ma’a cooked us poached eggs on toast because it was breakfast time and there was a bit of banter.
‘Even when Wales were winning, Ma’a said the All Blacks would keep on playing and that’s what happened. It’s been the same with Australia. There are times when we’ve lost those games in the last couple of minutes so you need to watch that.’
Halfpenny does not offer the running threat of Williams but his goal-kicking could be crucial — having taken over the duties from Dan Biggar — if Wales are to overturn their dire record of one win against Australia in 16 Tests over the last decade.
Halfpenny sought the advice of Jonny Wilkinson during his recovery, using the former England No 10 as a sounding board for his own substantial injury problems during his career.
‘Jonny set me targets, saying at the end of this injury you want to be better — you want to improve,’ said Halfpenny. ‘He went through a lot of technical things — passing, offloading, kicking — but also the emotional side of things, to see it as an opportunity.
‘A lot of the rehab went into getting the power back in my right knee. I ruptured the ACL and tore the cartilage either side. In the end the doctor said taking my hamstring could take away some power from the kicking, so they used my patellar tendon.
‘They insert that back in as your new ACL and try to save the cartilage by stitching them. Six months later I went for a scan and found out I needed another op because the stitching hadn’t held. There are a couple of screws in there now holding it in.’
Part of Halfpenny’s rehab involved cool-downs in the sea off the Cote d’Azur, where the Land Rover ambassador recently spent the afternoon sailing with Sir Ben Ainslie.
There were also winding cycle rides through the hillside in the south of France: ‘With my girlfriend, I’d cycle along the coast, go for lunch, then cycle back. It was good for my knee.’ He is meticulous in his preparations — repeatedly adjusting his branded T- shirt for this photoshoot — and dreams of rediscovering his form of the 2013 Lions tour.
Those performances earned him a second-place finish to Andy Murray at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards but, after his injuries, hitting the same levels of performance would be a far more significant achievement for the Welshman.
‘I believe you never stop learning and improving,’ he said.
‘Pushing off wasn’t the same as before but the surgeon told me that would be the case. Now it is feeling normal again.
‘Probably 2013 was the best year of my career. The Lions at the end of the year was just incredible. It was beyond my wildest dreams. I never expected that to happen. To be selected again for next year would be a huge honour.’
With Sam Warburton, Alun Wyn Jones and Taulupe Faletau joining Williams on today’s casualty list, Wales are missing three front-line Lions for their opener, while the Wallabies have been boosted by the return of flanker David Pocock, who has made a surprise switch to blindside for this game.
An early victory would help cement Wales’s position in the top eight of the World Rugby rankings, with forwards coach Robin McBryde emphasising the importance of not slipping back in to the tier-three nations ahead of May’s World Cup draw.
‘We know the implications of not having a very successful period between now and May,’ McBryde said yesterday.
‘We felt the repercussions in the last World Cup with a short turnaround against quality teams. That took a lot out of us and we know we can help our cause for 2019.’
Having missed last year’s World Cup, Halfpenny could be one of the stars in Japan but, after his past 14 months, he knows three years is a very long time to wait.
Leigh Halfpenny is a Land Rover ambassador. Land Rover is committed to championing grassroots rugby through its We Deal In Real campaign. Follow @LandRoverRugby #WeDealInReal
‘There are still screws in the knee holding it all together’