Sam Cane has finally spoken out about the mysterious injury that has seen him restricted to just a handful of low level club games this year.
The 95-Test veteran, who has announced this is his last season as an All Black, was called up for The Rugby Championship by new coach Scott Robertson on Sunday.
Having been sent off in the World Cup final loss to South Africa, Cane returned to his Japanese club team Suntory Sungoliath but was hardly sighted.
“It was something that was a bit difficult for me, I was between two different teams who had differing views on how much was shared publicly,” Cane said in reference to the determination of his club team not to release information in regards to his injury.
(Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
“I played my last game at the end of January, came home for a two-week break…went back and was preparing to play and I started having trouble with my back, sciatica pain went down my leg.
“I ended up having surgery on my back with a four-month recovery. It all went pretty smoothly and then the last step was playing rugby and being around a rugby team, I had a little bit of training with the Chiefs.
“I managed to squeeze in a couple of club games for Tauranga Sports, which was awesome reconnecting with the club I played for when I left school, my last club game was in 2011. I really enjoyed that, got exactly what I needed out of it from a personal point of view…I feel pretty ready, still a wee bit off Test level obviously.”
Cane will be playing for Bay Of Plenty in a preseason game on Friday – hardly the best preparation for a TRC return – and he said he wasn’t certain he would be selected for the All Blacks.
“(Robertson) said it’s going to come down to the make up of the squad. He was honest that it was going to depend on that and my focus is just to get back fit and available. I certainly wasn’t expecting to get named, and that if I was named it’d be a bonus. If not, I’d be spending the season with BOP,” said Cane.
“Like anyone who’s been around and played with the All Blacks for a few years, you never take it for granted. It’s hard to put into words exactly how special it is. Every time, it’s a little bit different because of the journey or what’s required to get there.”
The All Blacks open against Argentina in Wellington on August 10. They then fly to South Africa for two Ttests against the Springboks.
“Nothing excites me more than South Africa in South Africa,” said Cane. “It’s one of the ultimate challenges as an All Black. There’s some massive Test matches coming up. Whatever my role is to be played on behalf of the team, I’ll look forward to that.”
Meanwhile, Will Jordan is also back in black after a torrid time with injury and reflected on the mental toll of his time away in a NZ radio interview.
“You have the ups and downs and different periods of motivation. Now, as I get closer to playing, you start to dial in the mental a bit more, kind of trusting that your shoulder is in a good place,” he told Newstalk ZB.
Jordan missed the entire Super Rugby season to have surgery to fix his on-going shoulder injury.
“It’s been a wee while in the wilderness this year,” he said. “A bit of a long road back from the shoulder injuries.
“The first five or six weeks, once I got that [sling] off, the shoulder wasn’t able to get through too much range or too much strength work.
Will Jordan celebrates scoring for the All Blacks. (Photo by Paul Harding/Getty Images)
“The first three or four months are pretty slow going, just building into the rehab and some light weights.
“Over the last month or two, I’ve been able to train with the team a bit more and then finally the last two or three weeks back into full-contact training.”
