HEINEKEN CUP POOL FOUR:PADDY WALLACE'S rugby injuries are not for the squeamish as anyone who has seen pre-operative images of the damage to his thumb that has kept him sidelined for most of the last two months will attest. The surgeon furnished him with the pictures and he posted them on his twitter account, albeit first warning those who dared to look.
It is not a stand alone snapshot in terms of the macabre for the 32-year-old as there have been more than the occasional images of his head swathed in bloody bandages, an eye swollen shut or a cheekbone sporting a purple welt. His bravery is unquestionable, his luck with injury ridiculously unfair.
The damage to his left hand began when he broke a finger while playing for Ulster against Leinster at the RDS, which required surgery and a screw inserted.
Then last November he dislocated a finger in the same hand in the Connacht match and the following week compounded the problem in a Heineken Cup tie against Clermont Auvergne when first severing a tendon in his thumb and then towards the end of the game breaking a bone in the same hand; it was trod on in a ruck.
The following week he underwent surgery and was given a six to eight week prognosis in terms of rehabilitation, a timeframe that proved reasonably accurate. He’s been back in full contact training for a couple of weeks and came on as a replacement in Ulster’s victory over Edinburgh at Murrayfield last weekend.
His little finger still sticks out, almost at right angles and has to be taped up before matches while the scarring tells its own tale. He may get some more tendon damage repaired but sensibly on the evidence of recent times, only when he retires from the sport.
There isn’t a trace of self-pity as Wallace stitches his injury timeline together. Once he had the big cast removed he felt less helpless as up until that point he wasn’t allowed to grip anything and had to be especially careful.
That included dealing with two young children who, as he laughs, “were always trying to jump on me and find different ways of tormenting me.”
His rehab was strictly regulated and once the primary cast was removed last December he was able to step up the intensity.
Last weekend his diligence was rewarded when he came on against Edinburgh. Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin must decide whether the Irish international has done enough to warrant ousting Ian Whitten from the inside centre role.
The team has been going very well of late, the confidence and momentum engendered by winning obvious in the collective swagger. On Friday night Ulster host Leicester in a contest that will see the European aspirations of the losers perish.
The English club won’t be cowed by the task in hand as they proved in times past when becoming the first side to beat Munster in a Heineken Cup match at Thomond Park.
Wallace isn’t paying mere lip service when he suggests that “the Tigers are a very tough team to break down. They fill the pitch very well, getting huge numbers into an aggressive defensive line. You have to bring them though a lot of phases to try and break that defence down.
“Limiting turnovers is the key to being successful. The goal is to be in possession of the ball every time the referee blows his whistle. We’ll have to be accurate and clinical in what we do.”
Leicester will be without two of their first-choice backline in outhalf Toby Flood and centre Manu Tuilagi but, as Wallace points out, there is still a depth of quality behind the scrum.
“(Billy) Twelvetrees scored all of their points against Wasps and has done a fine job deputising for Flood. I have played against (inside centre) Anthony Allen in his Gloucester days and he is a tidy wee player.
“I think we are getting into a rhythm as a team and that’s been noticeable both in terms of training over the last few months and in the performances on the pitch.” Reinforcing that on the pitch at Ravenhill on Friday night would be opportune.
ROLLAND SET TO FACE HOT RECEPTION
ALAIN ROLLAND will receive no special protection when he returns to Wales to referee the Scarlets’ crunch Heineken Cup encounter with Northampton Saints on Saturday.
The former Ireland scrumhalf became public enemy number one in Wales after sending off Sam Warburton just 18 minutes into their heartbreaking World Cup semi-final defeat to France.
Rolland faced a torrent of criticism following the decision and allegedly even received death threats.
But the Scarlets insist there is no need for extra measures, despite admitting Rolland could receive a verbal battering at a red-hot Parc y Scarlets cauldron.
Scarlets head coach Nigel Davies said: “Referees always get the stick from the crowd. But as much as our crowd are very passionate, I don’t think anyone has been attacked here!
“He’s a good top end referee and you can’t blame him for following the laws of the game.”
RUGBY FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Heineken Cup (all kick-off times Irish): Ulster v Leicester Tigers, Ravenhill (8.0, Sky Sports); Racing Metro 92 v Edinburgh Rugby, Stades Yves du Manoir (8.0, Sky Sports i); Ospreys v Benetton Treviso, Liberty stadium (8.0).
Ulster Bank League 1A: Garryowenv Shannon, Dooradoyle (7.30).
Ulster Bank League 1B: Buccaneers v Galwegians, Dubarry Park (7.30)
SATURDAY
Heineken Cup (all kickoff times Irish): Toulouse v Connacht, Stade Ernest Wallon (3.40, Sky Sports i); Munster v Castres Olympique (3.40, Sky Sports); Scarlets v Northampton, Parc y Scarlets (1.30, Sky Sports); London Irish v Cardiff Blues (3.40, Sky Sports i); Montpellier v Bath, Stade Yves du Manoir (1.0); Aironi v ASM Clermont Auvergne, Stadio Brianteo (1.30); Harlequins v Gloucester, The Stoop (6.0, Sky Sports).
Ulster Bank League 1A (2.30): Dolphin v Young Munster, Musgrave Park (2.0); Clontarf v Old Belvedere, Castle Avenue; Lansdowne v Blackrock College, Aviva stadium; St Mary’s v Cork Constitution.
Ulster Bank League 1B (2.30): Bruff v UCC, Kilballyowen Park (1.30); Ballymena v Dungannon, Eaton Park; UL Bohemian v Ballynahinch, Annacotty; UCD v Belfast Harlequins, Belfield.
SUNDAY
Heineken Cup: Glasgow Warriors v Leinster, (12.45, Sky Sports); Saracens v Biarritz Olympique, Vicarage Road (3.0, Sky Sports).
