INJURIES ARE PRECISELY the thing training is built to avoid.
But there are times when some injuries can be viewed as part of some greater good. A whispered rumour of some savage intensity inflicted far from prying eyes.
So it was at Connacht in recent weeks as they sought to keep momentum simmering between an impressive win away to Edinburgh and a next outing that proved to a moveable feast due to Covid-related postponements.
Unfortunately for Jimmy Duffy, the injury toll wasn’t restricted to the playing staff.
“I was probably thinking I was 23 rather than 43,” laughed the forwards coach as he put crutches to one side to take his seat for a virtual press conference.
“I jumped in a session to make up the numbers for one of the drills. I learned my lesson. Again.”
He had stepped in an effort to ease the workload of one or two players.
A rugby season is taxing enough without postponements to squeeze in. Toss in Covid and the compacted season that results after sporting shutdown atop the usual slate of injuries, fatigue and international call-ups that stretch a squad thin and the road through the winter ahead looks a hard one.
One of the Westerners’ postponed matches has been re-fixed for early December and that means they now have confirmed fixtures for 10 straight weekends – and likely a few beyond that – leading right into February.
In an ideal world, their two-week break from play would have been a planned one with conditioning altered to suit. But Connacht won’t be caught complaining about their lot.
“Between injuries, a long season, multiple games and Covid, it’s the perfect storm at the moment. Everyone’s going to play… nearly including myself,” deadpans Duffy.
That is the carrot coaches can put before players now: opportunity. Connacht have six players away with Ireland and a few more who are well capable of competing at that level. Those who aren’t yet equipped to chase a spot in one of the 11 Ireland Tests between August’s restart and the end of the current season must be working towards the looming return of the Heineken Cup.
There may be no sign of fans returning to stadia south of the border, but the prospect of Connacht taking on Racing 92 and Pat Lam’s Bristol is a seriously tantalising set of games to brighten up a dim and socially-distanced December.
“Saying those names and hearing they’re coming to the Sportsground – they’re littered with world class players,” says Duffy as he looks forward to pitting his wits against former colleagues like John Muldoon and Conor McPhillips alongside Lam.
“It’s an exciting time. I can’t wait. I’m trying to live in the here and now which is Parma at the weekend.”
Parma represents a rare night away as a squad. After long single-day treks to Wales on Scotland, Connacht will overnight in Italy before attempting to get back to winning ways against Zebre on Sunday.
Italy’s cancelled Fiji Test means the result won’t come as easily as it did for Ulster on Monday, but Connacht feel they have enough firepower to win any game. They had enough to beat Scarlets last weekend.
“Everyone was bitterly disappointed – we should have won that game. We crossed the line four times as well as the ones we scored and didn’t get the ball down.
“It was tough to watch that, but on a night like that to create those six scoring opportunities, the positive we’re putting on it is that we got across the line. We created the chances, big focus (now) on converting them.”
He adds: “We’re taking nothing for granted, we’re just enjoying it. The wind is howling out there today and it’s lashing rain, but there’s loads of smiles on faces.
“We’ll use (Scarlets defeat) hopefully to motivate us this weekend and hopefully get a performance.”
