Sunday 7 June 2015 14:45, UK
It's been a very relaxed week for injured Wales and Clermont star Jonathan Davies, who writes about his time off in this week's column...
I have to say, this life of leisure is not too bad. I’ve been taking long, lazy lunches while catching up with friends and the only danger here is that I’ll grow too fond of it over these next few months.
The date for surgery has been set and that means the final piece of the whole affair has been put into place. I’ll still have to have the operation of course, and recover from it, but it’s nice knowing when I'll be going in so I can plan my life around it.
I’m looking forward to watching the boys on Saturday in our big semi-final against Toulouse. It's a game that I'd love to have been a part of but I'll be cheering the guys on and hoping they make it through to the final. It will be a tough game against a very good Toulouse side but I trust that the guys will be able to take us over the line.
The squad went into camp, just as we did before the Champions Cup game against Saracens, and by the sounds of things it was a worthwhile experience for everyone. I get the feeling from chatting to a few of my team mates that there's real clarity about what needs to be done in order to achieve our goals. I have faith that each individual will deliver in those 80 minutes and get us to the final.
It all got sorted out but it's funny to watch that now and see some of my current Clermont team mates swinging away at some of my current Wales team mates!
This week the club unveiled a great new signing in Dave Strettle. I've watched him for a few years now and have always been impressed by him. Against us in the Champions Cup this season he was very sharp and Nick Abendanon speaks very highly of him, so I'm looking forward to having him on our side.
Before going under the knife I will be heading to Scott Williams’ wedding, which is something I would have missed if Clermont made the final and I was selected for it, so there are a few slender silver linings to being injured! My brother and I are both on the same invitation, and there have been a few arguments about which of us has to wear a ball gown, though of course as the older brother I don't feel there should be any arguments at all.
After all that I’m off to London for the surgery. I'll be seeing the same doctor that I saw last week; he gave me a lot of confidence in what he said so it was an easy decision for me to ask him to perform the operation.
Jamie Roberts has threatened to fly in just to watch the surgery but I'll be handing a picture of him to security make sure he's nowhere near the table on the day. It's bad enough trusting him not to shave your eyebrows when you're asleep in a hotel room on tour, never mind when you're under general anaesthetic.
Once the surgery is done it’s time for recovery and figuring out what I’m going to do with my free time. I’ve had a few people on my case about joining them in their hobbies. A certain former team mate has suggested doing my bike licence so that I can join him on his Harley, but I think my mum might lie across the road while I’m trying to do my test. She wouldn’t go for it I don’t think!
Right now socialising and relaxing is the only thing on the agenda for me, though once I’m back in France I’d like to see a bit more of the country. I haven't seen quite as much of the landscape as I'd hoped but hopefully that can be rectified this summer.
Some people may not know, but this isn't my first experience with this type of injury. I actually did my ACL nine years ago and spent six weeks on crutches, but with the recent advancements in medical care – the graduation of Dr J Roberts excluded - I should be off crutches within a reasonable amount of time which is great. I won't be too active, or do anything that could jeopardise the recovery, but it will be nice not to just be restricted to the bed and couch.
It’s interesting to look back on that first injury now. At the time I was taking part in the Under 19 World Championship in Dubai on my 18th birthday, playing against New Zealand, and to this day I remember the game well.
We also played France in that tournament, and in that game there was a minor disagreement between the two sets of players after the final whistle went. It all got sorted out but it's funny to watch that now and see some of my current Clermont team mates swinging away at some of my current Wales team mates!
In the game against New Zealand we played against a few of the current All Blacks and to this day the man who still stands out in my memory was a young No 8 by the name of Victor Vito - a player who spent the whole afternoon running through our front five, then running around the rest of us. He was impressive in the way he dominated proceedings and is still doing the same today by all accounts.
Speaking of All Blacks, I was incredibly saddened to hear of the passing of Jerry Collins and his partner Alana in the south of France. He's not somebody I knew well at all, but you don’t need to know much about rugby to know he was one of the greats both on and off the pitch. My thoughts are with his family as well as with his daughter in hospital.
