Tahu shattered by latest setback

Tahu shattered by latest setback

November 10, 2008 TIMANA Tahu couldn't disguise his anguish after having his worst fears realised with his spring tour of Europe over almost before it began.

“I feel like going to slit my wrists at the moment,'' Tahu said after learning he'd torn a hamstring for the umpteenth time in his career during Australia's costly Test win over Italy on Saturday.

Fellow midfielder Berrick Barnes is also preparing to return home, with an MRI scan expected to confirm he sustained knee ligament damage in the 30-20 victory in Padova.

While the double injury blow is sure to cause selection headaches for coach Robbie Deans, particularly down the track if any other key players break down in Saturday's Twickenham showdown with England, Tahu's latest setback has devastated the 28-year-old rugby league convert.

After a similar problem robbed Tahu of all but a few games during NSW's Super 14 campaign, the dual international said he was feeling at home on a rugby field for the first time on Saturday before his injury curse struck again.

“Yeah, I've torn it in a different place,'' he said. “Same thing. It's like a broken record.

“I've got to go through the same rehab, go home and try and get this right, back to 100 per cent.

“I got a second chance to get a start again in this side and yesterday was probably a stepping stone to show that I am improving.

“So to miss out on the trip and the experience of the European tour is just shattering.

“As I said last week, it's been a rollercoaster season - and now I'm back on the down again.

“So I'm pretty disappointed. I trained for seven weeks and busted my butt to get where I was.''

The Wallabies medical staff told Tahu the injury could have happened to anyone in the squad.

“It was more of a freak accident because it happened when I was in the air trying to jump for a ball and a bloke was holding me back and it just tore,” Tahu said.

“It wasn't on the part where I tore my hamstring twice this year.

“But, still, it's on the hamstring and it's frustrating. I feel like going to slit my wrists at the moment.''

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans advised him against it and said Tahu's injury could even prove a blessing in the long term.

“He can recover from it and he's got time to recover from it,'' Deans said.

“He's now just doing what most of what the Australian rugby population are doing - conditioning for next year.

“It doesn't have any bearing in terms on what's coming. It might be a godsend. He might come back bigger and better for it. He's certainly looking more comfortable in the game.''

So comfortable that Deans said Tahu, for the first time, should head back to Australia with a sense of “belonging'' among the Wallabies after his eye-catching display at inside centre against Italy proved he was up to Test level.

“This is not the end. It might even be the start,'' Deans said.

“He's not alone in injury. There'll be others who'll pick up injuries who haven't got them yet.

“So it's not the end. It's simply a moment in time. He'll just keep going. He's got a lot more rugby in him.''

With the call for reinforcements unlikely, the pair's injuries have effectively left Deans with a reduced squad of 32 players for the Wallabies' remaining four fixtures.

And with Barnes, his first-choice No.12, gone, Deans is expected to revert to the centre pairing of Ryan Cross and Stirling Mortlock against England, with Matt Giteau inside them calling the shots at five-eighth.

Should any of the three go down, Deans would almost certainly be forced into a major backline reshuffle and start Quade Cooper, the Wallabies' unlikely saviour in Padova, for the ensuing clashes with France, Wales and the Barbarians.

AAP

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...-23217,00.html