There wasn’t a player in Australia happier to wake up sore on Sunday morning than Lachie Swinton.
The abrasive back-rower hadn’t played a game of rugby since suffering a shoulder nerve injury in the Waratahs’ opening round match last year, and wasn’t sure he ever would again.
He’s back: Lachie Swinton is back after a dark and uncertain 11 month recovery from a complex shoulder injury.Credit:Getty
To make it back for Saturday’s pre-season trial against the Brumbies, bring his trademark physicality to bear on the game and then wake up with nothing more than the usual post-game aches and pains was a resounding success in Swinton’s book. Even if his team didn’t get the win.
“It’s weird the things you miss and being sore was one of them. I woke up Sunday feeling pretty sore, so I had a smile on my face,” he said.
“When I was walking out to the field I thought, ‘I’m actually going to be playing here’. It was a thing in my head for so long, mentally. I put a goal out there a year ago to get back playing and to finally be doing that, I was really proud of myself. Twelve months is a long time.”
A cult favourite in the Waratahs jersey, who wears his heart on his sleeve and a Shute Shield sponsor’s tattoo on his buttock, Swinton was also one of the most exciting discoveries of the Dave Rennie Wallabies era. He played seven Tests after debuting in 2020 and was destined for many more until last year’s season opener against the Fijian Drua.
Swinton receives medical attention after being injured in the round one match against the Drua last year.Credit:Getty
A monster hit led to paralysis of the auxiliary nerve in Swinton’s right shoulder. Not an uncommon injury – but not a clear-cut one, either. Swinton learned the nerve eventually comes back online again in about 90 per cent of cases, but the 26-year-old was unlucky to find himself in the minority.
“I was being led on for a long time with the hope it would come back, but around five months in they turned around and said, ‘We have to act on this while we can still operate’. So, around the five- to six-month mark, I got the operation,” he said.
From there it was a waiting game. Swinton drew strength from teammates Will Harrison and Joey Walton, also on the long-term injured list, and learned to break time down into smaller increments. He set goals. He spoke to Wallabies teammate Rory Arnold, who suffered the same injury and recovered without surgery.
“I’m not going to lie to you, it was very tough,” Swinton said. “When you deal with nerves it’s a very big grey area. Any sort of thing when you go in and touch them [with surgery] you can’t be sure how the person is going to react. When I talked to the surgeon, he told me that from the outset. It was the unknown that scared me and to be able to push on with it I was going to have to shape that up.”
‘Emotional’: Lachie Swinton returns for the Waratahs after a year-long injury lay-off.Credit:Waratahs Media/ Julius Dimataga
The surgery went well so the Waratahs medical team planned a graduated return to training and contact. In October they set their sights on returning for a pre-season trial and, about three weeks ago, there were indications the nerve had woken up. Pretty soon, Swinton will have a full working shoulder again.
But just taking the field wasn’t enough. Swinton also wanted to make sure he could play with the same physicality and aggression that, in three seasons, had made him one of the most riveting players to watch in Super Rugby.
“I pride myself on putting my body on the line for my teammates and I wanted to continue to do that,” he said.
“I really wanted to be healthy and effective with my shoulders so running out was a big goal. My family and friends were happy to see it. It gave me quite a bit of excitement to see how happy it made my teammates and the people in my close circle. I could tell how happy they all were. I didn’t really realise that until I played.”
The Waratahs have their back row weapon back and Eddie Jones will be watching with interest, too.
Meanwhile, stand-in Australia sevens captain Henry Hutchison will miss the rest of this year’s Sevens World Series after being battered with four injuries in the space of a week.
Hutchison sprained his wrist and broke several ribs during the sevens tournament in Hamilton late last month. Then at the Sydney Sevens the following week, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and injured his right knee.
The ACL tear has ruled him out for the rest of the season, meaning he’ll miss events in Los Angeles, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore, Toulouse and London.
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