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I’ve been busy this month. A little baby girl who was struggling to put on weight has been taking up all my attention.
Winter is not a good time to be underweight when you’re a newborn. Actually, I don’t think there’s ever a good season to arrive into the world with weight issues.
Santa Claus is another with weight issues, albeit in the other extreme. Perhaps he arrived early this year at our household to provide my baby girl with some tips on how to put on weight.
It seems to have done the trick and the weight is coming on and the little one is beginning to fill out her tiny clothes that still somehow managed to look like a sleeping bag on her. An adult sleeping bag at that.
I can’t help but think back on this year in a rugby context and draw some parallels of players overcoming odds and getting the plaudits they deserve.
Players like ‘Thor’ and McCaw – think of another player who’s had a stellar season that rhymes with those two and you could go into the draw to win fabulous squat prizes – tend to hog the headlines.
But this year has seen the return of some players who have been around the scene for a long time but have fought their way back into the team.
Special mention first up must go to Pat McCabe. Cruelly, a third neck injury spelt an end to his rugby career but I have immense respect for the man who fought his way back into the side and redefined himself as a winger having played most of his Test rugby in the centres.
You never like to see any player succumbing to such a serious injury but if I were a player like Dan Carter, I’d be using players such as McCabe or his fellow flyhalf Johnny Wilkinson as sources of inspiration to fight my way back into form.
There is no easy way to achieve this. It takes dogged determination and hard work not to mention an unshakable belief in your ability to overcome the odds.
Schalk Burger and Juan Smith were two of my favourite Springbok players but I thought I’d never see either of them again in a Springbok jersey.
After four operations on his Achilles injury, Juan Smith was in a way the most pleasing of comebacks for me in many ways. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t at his devastating best. Unlike Victor Matfield, Smith must have crawled out of the pits of despair to lace up his rugby boots once again.
I can only imagine what he felt making his way out onto the field.
It was another cracker Test match at Ellis Park this year, and the adjudged try of the year came from another halfback who had battled his way back into contention.
Francois Hougaard may well have finished the year doubting whether he will be included in Meyer’s World Cup plans next year but his perseverance was rewarded in that magnificently adventurous try and you could sense his joy in that final lunge over the line.
Patrick Lambie and Colin Slade are examples of flyhalves who have had to overcome injury and fight their way back to capture the attention of their respective selectors.
Younger players like Beauden Barrett and Handré Pollard may have taken the limelight away from these two players but much like Bernard Foley – who was unceremoniously dumped for Kurtley Beale after playing well against the French in June – these players never lost faith and bided their time.
I always felt that Foley should have broken into the Test side in the Lions series last year.
James O’Connor at flyhalf made about as much sense to me as Kurtley Beale did. Both are talented football players but talent won’t cover up the other cracks in such a crucial position.
When you consider that Colin Slade has had Daniel Carter, Aaron Cruden and now Beauden Barrett to contend with and Patrick Lambie has equally had to deal with Morné Steyn, Handré Pollard and Johan Goosen, you could forgive either player for giving up all hope of representing their country again and seeking riches offshore.
The fact that they stayed at home and could well figure in the World Cup plans is a testament to their devotion and determination.
Victor Vito and Scott Higginbotham have their devoted fans but arguably more skeptics in terms of their worth at Test level. It was a shame to see Vito pick up an early injury after an impressive score against Scotland but I think both players hit back at their critics.
These two players have big expectations dumped on their broad shoulders so it’s warming to see them both figure in the Test selections once again.
Please feel free to add to the list. Jamie Roberts and Brad Barritt spring to mind in the Northern Hemisphere. Charlie Faumuina in the front row for New Zealand would be another good shout and you could well argue Wyatt Crockett fits that bill as well.
When things are going your way and you are getting the limelight constantly shined on you, it’s easy to think that adulation will last forever.
Israel Folau and Ben Smith found out this year that it is not always plain sailing – all players go through form ruts or the points start drying up.
There are other players, however, who have undergone much more haunting internal examinations and know the sting of falling out of the selectors’ favour.
Dumped and thought of yesterday’s news, I admire and tip my hat to all those players who overcame the anguish of losing their place to injury or indifference and put their heads down and did what was necessary to get back to the required standard.
I won’t give them a great big kiss like I did and do repeatedly to my daughter, but I do raise my glass to them and salute them and wish them all the best for the upcoming important international season.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.