A knee injury back in January wiped out Bristol No8 Dan Ward-Smith’s chances of earning his first England cap and appearing at the World Cup. Now, back in action, he tells rucked.com why he’s determined to make up for lost time
So, how you doing?
Yeah, very good, it’s nice to be back playing again. The knee’s improving and I’m feeling in good shape for the weekend. Hopefully I’ll be involved and get some game time to show what I can do against a very strong Stade Francais.
Are you getting back to your best?
I think with an injury like this it’s not just the physical side of things, it takes a while to get back mentally too. It’s going to take a lot of work to get me back to where I want to be.
You were out for a long time, was there any time when you feared for your future?
Definitely. About 20 minutes after I did it I realised how serious it was and was concerned about my career. If you can’t run around, sprint and make tackles then you’re not much use to a rugby team. Not too many people can tell you how it’s going to be, but I’m pretty happy with the way things are going now.
How tough was it?
I was lucky to have the support of my girlfriend (Jamie) and close friends because I couldn’t do anything. If it wasn’t for Jamie I would’ve starved to death! Initially, without wanting to go into the nitty gritty, I couldn’t even shower myself. But after about three months, when I could drive again, life got better and I wasn’t so reliant on other people.
Was it easy filling up your time?
In the early days there was a lot of rehab to be done so the boys would take turns to take me to the club so I could do some upper-body weights. In the evenings I would watch DVDs, a bit of TV or read books – there wasn’t much else I could do.
The timing of the injury – when you were expected to make your England debut – was particularly tough…
Yeah definitely. I’d worked hard to get on the verge of playing international rugby – which was where I wanted to be – so to have it taken away was a bitter pill to swallow. It was tough watching that Six Nations.
And the World Cup, too…
The carrot of playing at the world cup if I could get fit in time was a nice reward to aim for, but I knew it would be difficult. But maybe if I didn’t have that carrot dangled, I wouldn’t have worked as hard to get fit again…
Despite the injury, you’ve still gone from National One rugby (with Plymouth Albion) to a World Cup contender in two seasons?
I can be proud of what I’ve done, even though I’ve missed out on a lot of good stuff. To get back to the same position and play for England, hopefully in the Six Nations, has got to be my goal. I’d be selling myself short if I settled for anything else.
Was it tough to watch?
I just watched it as a supporter. Like any player I wanted to be out there, but I was just proud of my mates for performing so well.
Your rival for the No8 spot, Nick Easter, had a decent World Cup…
Nick’s a great player. He had the same sort of journey as me in that he was slow to get into the Premiership and wasn’t an academy player. He played National One and it’s great to see that he could perform on the international stage because it gives me confidence that I could do the same thing. That’s what I’d like to be doing – playing No8 for England.
This weekend Stade Francais visit. A far cry from an away day Sedgley Park?
I think, and no disrespect to Sedgley Park, this is another level. The Heineken Cup is the closest thing to international rugby and I want to make an impact at this level. If you can make an prove yourself against Stade Francais, people look at you. Everyone is really excited at the club and there’s going to be a lot of crazy Bristolians cheering us on this weekend.
You moved to the UK from New Zealand when you were 21. Do you ever wonder what would’ve happened if you’d stayed?
I used to wonder when I was at Plymouth and would see the Super 12 and see some of the guys I played with or against. But now I’m with Bristol in the Premiership I don’t have many doubts. It’s a great place to be and I’m very privileged to be doing what I do. No regrets.