To the naked eye there has been little or nothing wrong with Darcy Graham’s form this year. Up until he injured his hip in Scotland’s game against Ireland at the Rugby World Cup, the Edinburgh winger appeared to have been playing with his usual verve for club and country, menacing defences with his ability to run in tries from anywhere on the field.
But the 26-year-old – who saw action for the first time since that match when he came off the bench in Edinburgh’s 34-21 win over Castres on Saturday – knew that things were not as they should be. A knee injury against Munster last December led to his having a screw inserted, that screw soon began causing him the kind of nagging irritation that meant he could never feel entirely pain-free – and that, in turn, inevitably compromised his ability to play at the top of his game.
Which is why his hip injury in early October came as a blessing in disguise. Knowing he would be sidelined for a number of weeks, Graham used the enforced break to get his knee sorted. Out came the screw – it is now lying around in his bedroom – and up went his hopes of playing without pain again.
Those hopes have now been realised, and after that substitute’s appearance in the Challenge Cup tie against the French club, Graham is now ready to challenge for a starting berth in the Edinburgh line-up as a crucial phase of the season approaches. “I got the screw taken out and that allows me to run more freely now,” he explained after the game, in which he came on far earlier than planned following full-back Harry Paterson’s 10th-minute withdrawal with concussion. “I’m not in constant pain any more.
“I can walk up stairs now and not be in pain. I don’t wake up in the middle of night feeling sore any more. My overall life is a lot better.
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