1
Dan Lydiate revisits traumatic moment he 'obliterated' ACL on his Wales comeback
Dan Lydiate has revisited the terrible moment his return from the Test level wilderness with Wales last month ended in an excruciating ACL injury just minutes into his Guinness Six Nations comeback against Ireland. The 33-year-old was making his first Test appearance since November 2018.
ADVERTISEMENT
However, his time on the field in the championship opener was cruelly limited as he injured his knee chasing down a kick. He initially attempted to play on, packing down for a scrum when play restarted. But he was then hooked at the next stoppage.
The excruciating pain of the damage he had done then set in, so much so that he exited down the Principality Stadium tunnel and spent the entire remainder of the match in the changing room unaware that Wales were going on to beat 14-man Ireland.
Appearing on the latest RugbyPass Offload show in the company of ex-Wales colleague Jamie Roberts and former England rival Dylan Hartley, Lydiate recalled: “There was a kick chase and I was trying to get up for the ball. It felt like someone brushed against me and my next step, I just felt something snap in my knee.
“I was like, ‘Jesus Christ, that’s not good’. Then the pain hit and the medics ran on. They tested the stability in my knee. It was sort of a shock, my muscles weren’t allowing my knee to move.
Only twice in Wayne Pivac's 13-Test tenure have Wales been able to pick the same No9 from one game to the next… and they now have to change again for Italy ? #SixNations #ITAvWALhttps://t.co/ZE3CAAt8ih
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 4, 2021
“I was like, ‘It doesn’t feel too bad, let me stand up’. I could put weight on it and I could stand up so I was like. ‘Let’s strap it up, see if I can run it off’ – the old classic. Then we had a scrum, Ireland exited and the medics were running on because they were watching it back, had seen the replay and had seen my knee obliterated.
“As the doctor came on I put more weight on my leg and it just buckled. I was right in front of them and he said, ‘Look, you have got to get off’. I should have come off straight away but I was ten minutes into the jersey after being two years out from the Welsh team and I was like, ‘I can’t go off now’.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Because of the start of the game adrenalin was flying, a couple of big collisions early on and you’re like, ‘I’m into this now, I just want to get after it’. Then it’s shepherd’s crook, I’m off and literally as I hobble off the field every step my knee was giving way and I was going straight to the tunnel. They took me into the changing rooms and I stayed in there for the whole game so I didn’t know what happened until the end of the match.”
Lydiate has since had surgery on his knee and while Wales went on to clinch the Triple Crown with last Saturday’s round three win over England, the veteran back row candidly admitted it was a gutting experience watching them be so successful while he was unavailable through injury.
“It’s sort of a weird experience, ten minutes,” he continued. “It goes down in the record book but you almost don’t feel part of it because I was there for two weeks pre the first game and ten minutes into the Ireland game the ACL goes. You don’t feel a part of it. Watching on the weekend you want the boys to do well but you are gutted at the same time because you just want to be there. Anyone who says they are not gutted would be lying.
“It’s early days yet,” he said about his rehab. “Physios are popping out to my house a couple of times a week. I’m basically doing it myself at the minute, just trying to get rid of the swelling and just trying to get the knee moving.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It [knee rehab] is very slow to start with, but the surgery went well. I went up to the big smoke in London to get it done, where everyone goes to see big Andy Williams, so he sorted me out and we just take each day as it comes now. I have got my little routine and my little exercise to do every day. It’s pretty boring but you just get on with it.”
Reflecting on his fleeting time back in the Wales set-up, Lydiate, whose first appearance in a 65-cap career came in 2009, described his recall after 27 months out as making his debut all over again. “I probably got more emotional driving into Cardiff for that game (against Ireland) than I did for my first. It was like being called to Wales for the first time. It was a bit mental. For the two weeks I was with the Wales camp I was loving it but that is the way it goes.”
"There will be things from that (Wales vs England) game he will be hard on himself as well"
– Callum Sheedy is back hard at work at Bristol this week rather than get carried away by his Wales exploits #SixNations #PremRugbyhttps://t.co/VIt0aDyxS4
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 4, 2021
Asked about his rapport with current Wales boss Wayne Pivac, whom he didn’t work with previously, Lydiate said: “I was only there two weeks, I didn’t have a lot of time with the guy. Literally, as soon as I walked into the team room he made a beeline for me, he was like welcome and can I have a word?
“I was like sound, we sat down and he made me feel really welcome. He was, ‘I haven’t picked you at your age to be a bag holder’ and I was like, ‘Thank Christ for that’. He said just bring what you have been bringing in your club rugby, we want to get the best out of you and you’re here to do a job.
“If there is anything you need just come to us and I found that with all the coaches, you could go over to them at any time. It’s a good environment but it was only a brief two weeks I was there. The boys felt it was a lot different than in the autumn internationals.”
Comparing the Wales set-up to what he had previously known under Warren Gatland, Lydiate added: “More than anything the way he is trying to play (is different). Days were pretty much similar, very much run the same. There is a lot of the same backroom staff but the details were different how Pivac wants to play.
“It’s a good mix, to be honest. They have done it really well – and the food that was the best bit in camp. It has gone up ten levels since I was last in there. Once I had my scan to say my knee was gone, I went back to the Vale and stayed there the night and it was like the last supper. They had a mixed grill on and it was like an elephant’s graveyard by the end of it, bones everywhere.”
RugbyPass Offload EP 19 with Dan Lydiate ?
Christina, Dylan and Jamie are joined by Welsh and British & Irish Lion back-row Dan Lydiate this week!
We review all the Guinness Six Nations action, refereeing decisions & the France rugby situation.
?? – https://t.co/kiVitCnOVf pic.twitter.com/gT8ibi95qB
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 3, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
I wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
3 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
3 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
3 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to comments