As Leigh Halfpenny took his seat in a central London hotel yesterday, a waiter offered him a coffee. “I can’t, I’m afraid,” said the Welshman, ruefully. “I’ve got surgery in an hour.”
When the waiter returns with a small glass of water, the full-back began to relax – or as much as he can considering the state of his right knee – and reflects on the events that ended with him stricken on the Millennium Stadium turf 11 days ago.
There were just 11 minutes left in Wales’ final World Cup warm-up game against Italy when Halfpenny, considered to be their key player, attempted to change direction to gather a bouncing ball. “I heard a snap,” he recalled. “I just remember being on the floor in agony. I was just thinking: ‘That could be it. That could be my World Cup done.’”
Sadly, it was. Scans diagnosed a ruptured anterior cruciate knee ligament and the 26-year-old underwent reconstructive knee surgery yesterday afternoon at the Cromwell Hospital in Kensington.
With rehabilitation expected to take between six to eight months, Halfpenny’s season is over already. Not only will he be absent for the World Cup, he is likely to miss the Six Nations and almost certainly Toulon’s attempt to win a fourth successive European Cup.
But he wants to make one thing crystal clear – this was not head coach Warren Gatland’s fault. The strapping around Halfpenny’s knee meant many – including Shane Williams – thought he was asked to play while already carrying an injury, but he insists nothing could be further from the truth.
“The injury isn’t related to the strapping I had on,” he said. “That was a bump I had picked up in training a few weeks before. I played against Ireland with the strapping and because I’d had it on for a few weeks in training, I felt like I wanted it. I wanted to keep things the same and it helped with my kicking too.
“Is it unfair Warren has been blamed? Yes. I was absolutely fine to play. It is just one of those things that has happened. It is part and parcel of professional sport and life goes on.”
Even so, when he described the moment the diagnosis was confirmed on the Monday after the Italy game his voice dropped to a whisper and he looked at the floor. The emotion in his voice is clear.
“I had my scan and was on the way back home with my girlfriend and my mum and dad,” he said. “The results came back pretty quickly. The Welsh physio [Prav Mathema] rang me and when I saw his name I knew.
“I thought I would have more time, but it was pretty much straight away. I answered the phone and he said: ‘It’s not great news I’m afraid. You need an operation and it’s six to eight months out’.
“I was devastated at the time. My girlfriend and parents could tell by my reaction that it wasn’t good news. It was a pretty quiet car journey on the way home.”
The messages of support have flooded in ever since, with Halfpenny being particularly touched by one from “the great Jonah Lomu”.
But despite the absence of scrum-half Rhys Webb – also seriously injured against Italy – centre Jonathan Davies and himself, Halfpenny believes Wales will improve on their semi-final appearance four years ago.
“I have no doubt we can go all the way in this World Cup,” he said, firmly. “The strength in depth of this Welsh team is amazing.”
Halfpenny is a glass half-full person. Few in his situation would pepper their conversation with comments such as “it could have been worse”, while he also declares the injury might be a blessing in disguise as it could help him extend his career and play in the 2023 World Cup.
“It could prolong my career because of this time off now,” he added. “It’s been a dream of mine as kid to play for Wales, to play for Wales at a World Cup and to lift that trophy. The time for me isn’t now, but hopefully in the future, who knows?”
Dove Men+Care wish Leigh Halfpenny well in his recovery. #SCRUMTOGETHER to win Rugby World Cup 2015 tickets every Thursday on @dovemen
