Attwood tries the French correction
ENGLAND and Bath lock Dave Attwood has spoken candidly about the reasons behind his shock move to Toulon as he attempts to banish the mystery knee injury that has stymied his career.
Attwood, 30, suffered swelling on his left knee while training with England in November 2016, since when he has endured two aborted comebacks and failed to appear at all this season.
The 24-cap Bristolian admits his lengthy lay-off has taken a mental toll and hopes a stint in the Top 14 will allow him to find his best form and rekindle his domestic and Test ambitions. Attwood told The Rugby
Paper: “I’ve been injured a very long time now, although if you’d asked me how I was at any point over the last 14 months, I’d have said I was just four to six weeks away.
“I got injured in the 2016 autumn series, had a couple of weeks off to recover and then played until Christmas with Bath. But it wasn’t quite right so I rehabbed again and came back towards the end of last season. However, the swelling persisted and we tried a more invasive surgery route, but I still haven’t got back properly, which is frustrating on all sorts of levels.
“It’s frustrating for fans, coaches and teammates as well and the pressure of that has been significant. With a few things not going in Bath’s favour recently there’s been pressure to return and contribute, but having not played for such a long time there have been confidence issues around what’s going on in my head and how that might impact on the field.
“In the wider sense of the squad, the decision between myself, the medical staff, our coaches and owner is to try and do something different. We wondered whether it should be in the Championship or the PRO14, but an opportunity came up to go to France and I know a number of people who’ve been there and been able to manage their bodies differently.” Attwood added: “Guys like Simon Shaw, Dean Schofield, Kris Chesney and Nick Kennedy all reenergised their careers at Toulon and an element of this is geared so that the Dave Attwood who comes back in the summer will stick around for a longer period of time. “It’s been difficult telling Bath fans I’ve not been ready and you always feel a bit of a phoney. But that’s been the nature of this injury and I’ve got an opportunity to recover in a slightly different way now, both mentally and physically, and get myself in the right space.” While Attwood has fallen a long way down England’s pecking order, he believes experiencing a different style of rugby in France will make him a more rounded player.
Attwood explained: “I still have realistic ambitions with England and that’s why I’ve never looked at France before, but there’s an opportunity now to add to my CV and I’ll discover what French top tier rugby is all about while playing in a team of rock stars at Toulon.
“Chris Ashton (left) is down there and Mike Ford’s given me a good insight into Toulon, so there are plenty of positives to this move; I’ll hopefully get back to playing my best rugby and then come back in the summer to at least another year with Bath so I can really push on.
“I’m hoping Eddie Jones and the England coaches will keep an eye on what I’m doing because I’ve definitely still got ambitions once I get back from France.”