1
'Getting on that World Cup plane would be pretty amazing... but I have a lot of catching up to do'
A week’s a long time in rugby. Just ask Taulupe Faletau. Only last Thursday he was telling RugbyPass that contact with the Wales hierarchy had been scarce. Five days later, though, came reassurance he hasn’t been completely forgotten despite his twice-broken arm.
ADVERTISEMENT
Inclusion in the 42-strong Welsh training squad for the World Cup is only base camp, however, the 28-year-old back row admitting he has much lost ground to recover to get on that plane to Japan.
He may have a stellar CV, Lions Test starts along with 72 Wales appearances, but he hasn’t represented his country since March 2018 and knows he has much to do to demonstrate he can become his country’s starting No8, just like he used to be.
“One hundred percent, it would be massive to make the World Cup,” he told RugbyPass ahead of a summer training schedule that will include altitude training in the Swiss Alps before a warm-weather camp in Turkey.
“I haven’t played much rugby this season. If I manage to get on that plane it would be pretty amazing and everything else, but there is a lot of work to be done between now and then.
(Continue reading below…)
“The boys who were there already, they have got a head start and I have got a lot of catching up to do. I have to concentrate on making up some ground,” he said, adding there had been little contact lately with Warren Gatland and co.
“That’s exactly it, they had got their hands full dealing with the squad at the (Six Nations) time so I didn’t really hear much from them. You can’t really blame them, they had got their hands full there.
ADVERTISEMENT
“My main concentration is hopefully getting my arm right, getting some games under my belt and seeing what happens then.”
FULL STORY ? Eighteen players with World Cup experience have been named in Warren Gatland's #RWC2019 training squad, along with uncapped @cardiff_blues pair Owen Lane and Rhys Carre: https://t.co/C1eCXzlzaN #ForTheJersey pic.twitter.com/1FJjJpfvM2
— Welsh Rugby Union ? (@WelshRugbyUnion) April 30, 2019
Faletau was last seen in a Welsh jersey when they beat France in the 2018 Six Nations. That was a second win in a row for Gatland’s team, but that sequence has ballooned in his absence to 14 games unbeaten.
All the way there has been a myriad of milestones. Two wins over South Africa. A series win in Argentina. The scalp of Australia. The Six Nations Grand Slam. Not the kind of success you’d like to miss out on, especially with Ross Moriarty starting seven wins and fitting snuggly into the No8 shirt.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I’m not too bad,” claimed Faletau about his emotions when looking from the outside into the camp. “Sometimes, especially during the Six Nations, right before a game you might go, ‘Ah, I might have been out there’. But when the games kicks off you just start jumping up and down supporting the boys and hoping they will win. They did a great job and came away with a Grand Slam.
“I didn’t (watch any games in person), but I was back in Wales for the Ireland match. We watched it in a pub back home in Pontypool and definitely it was awesome.”
Faletau’s first step towards the World Cup will be getting fully back up to speed with Bath. Awaiting scan results, he claimed the outlook was positive and his participation at training was set to crank though the gears.
However, having been through all this type of rehab over the winter only for it to let him down in his comeback game when he suffered a second arm fracture, it will only be when he has come through games unscathed that he will feel he is fully recovered.
10 weeks down, not long to go … looking forward to getting back out there with the boys in the new year ????? pic.twitter.com/qM1sUD8BSL
— Taulupe Faletau (@taulupe) December 16, 2018
“Definitely, you can do all the training but… it was like that first time round. You did all the training, all the rehab and all the stages of contact I needed to come through and it felt great and all that kind of stuff. Then obviously I played the first game and it didn’t quite hold up, so it’s about hopefully getting through the first game and that will be a massive confidence booster.
“When I did it again I felt a pop in my arm and I guess I knew it wasn’t right. I had the X-ray that night and it wasn’t great. It was, ‘You’re back on the rehab schedule’. I’ve still got a couple of weeks yet. I’m towards the end of it now, so this is where all the hard work needs to go in.
“The first half of it [rehab] you can’t really do much. You have got to let the wound heal and wait for the bone to heal. The X-ray will determine if I can start doing a bit more in terms of rugby-specific stuff. Hopefully I can get that feedback from the surgeon and then start pushing the pace and trying to get back up to the speed of things.
“I just come in and do my conditioning in the morning, check in with the physios and they are just making sure everything is on track. The big stage is jumping into team training and taking a bit more part in the rugby stuff. It feels okay so hopefully I’m just waiting for some good news rather than anything else.
“That [to play] would be a huge confidence booster in my arm for me personally, just to feel comfortable in my arm. It has been a while. I haven’t played much rugby this season so if I was able to get back on the pitch before the end of the season, that would be awesome for me.”
Being stuck in eighth spot with just eight wins in 20 matches wasn’t the type of Gallagher Premiership campaign Bath were hoping for, but Faletau’s stint in casualty means he hasn’t been close enough to the team to pinpoint what exactly has left them down.
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.”
In & out. I’ll be back ?? pic.twitter.com/Rc0pmKdbI5
— Taulupe Faletau (@taulupe) January 15, 2019
“I can’t really comment on that because I have been injured most of the season and I haven’t been around the team as much as I would. All that stuff, I wouldn’t be the first man to ask.
“The back row as a unit has been pretty solid and has done itself justice. They have done really well over the season. It’s just I guess overall the results is the main thing and that is what we haven’t been getting. It’s a tough old league, but as a squad we would expect to be a bit higher than what we are now.”
Faletau’s green light to prepare for a shot at making his third World Cup finals was made public on Tuesday at roughly the same time that Bristol confirmed veteran George Smith – his hero growing up – isn’t being kept on next season. Inspiring kids was what Faletau hoped to do at the Gallagher Insurance Train with your Heroes Bath hosted for the Melksham under-11s.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance to do this kind of thing growing up but the kids today hopefully they will get inspiration from training alongside us. That would be awesome because definitely growing up we looked up to players and watched a lot of rugby on TV. It definitely inspired us.
“George Smith is always a favourite. I love the way the way he played the game and fortunately I managed to share the field with him a few times. I was star-struck playing the game, ‘This is George Smith’ sort of thing,” explained Faletau, whose intermittent social media use is usually retweets aimed at good causes such as helping a cousin from Tonga fight kidney failure.
Please read, donate if you are able to and share this go fund me page that is aiming to raise money for my cousin who is fighting kidney failure. Thank you for any donations or awareness you can bring. https://t.co/Ag91J8ymPs
— Taulupe Faletau (@taulupe) October 4, 2018
“I don’t really use it much. I guess I just retweet and if a retweet can help anything, then why not have it?
“My cousin’s all good. We have managed with the fund that was raised to bring him to New Zealand and he is in the process of applying for residency. Hopefully he can get that and the treatment can carry on with his dialysis.”
WATCH: Part two of the RugbyPass Operation Jaypan documentary ahead of the 2019 World Cup
Comments on RugbyPass
Did the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
1 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
16 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
16 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
16 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
16 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to comments