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Player Profile - rHys PatCHell
PLAYER FEATURE SCARLETS Vs glasgow warriors
FIGHTING
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RHyS PAtCHEll REFlECtS On tHE lOng ROAd tO FitnESS And WHAt nOW liES AHEAd
There must have been a time when Rhys Patchell pondered what he had ever done to offend the rugby gods so badly.
No sooner had he made a welcome return from a string of injury issues, the game went into a Covid-enforced hibernation for the winter!
the Wales international fly-half made his comeback for the Scarlets development side in the autumn, featuring in matches against the Dragons and Ospreys.
He was then set to figure on November’s ill-fated South Africa tour only for the Omicron variant to intervene, forcing the hasty return and isolation of the touring group and postponement of a clutch of games that followed. He takes up the tale.
“I have been ready to go since the middle of October, November. I had found a bit of fitness, i played two development games for the club and then every game got cancelled after that. It was incredibly frustrating. I think I trained something like 13 weeks on the bounce and there were no games. But there we are, that’s how it goes.
“the journey to regain fitness has been longer than I had anticipated, but, touch wood, I’ve got all my injuries out of the way in one very long go. The games are going to come thick and fast now and hopefully I can stay on the field and contribute to what we are doing here.”
Amidst it all, a new contract has also been negotiated, ensuring the 28-year-old can extend his stay in West Wales having made the initial trip down the M4 from Cardiff in 2016.
“I am delighted to have a job next year more than anything,” he smiles. “I have been quite fortunate in my career generally. I have known where I am going to be before Christmas and that’s been a real weight lifted off the shoulders going into the tail end of the season, whereas this time was a bit different. Ultimately, you can have the best agent in the world, but if you are not on the field doing the business, it’s very difficult to sell yourself.
“Fortunately for me, getting back on the field came at a good time with regards to that. I had absolute faith that once i got on the field and had a run of games I would be able to deliver and contribute to an organisation, and, fortunately, that organisation is the Scarlets. “I am pleased to be sticking around and contributing to what we are building here and the future success we’re all striving for.”
PLAYER FEATURE
Patchell certainly has had to battle the injury demons in recent years, although, typically, he remains philosophical about the setbacks he has had to endure since the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019.
“Some days, the game doesn’t love you quite as much as you love it,” he adds. “That is the best way to put that. It was incredibly frustrating. I certainly hadn’t anticipated being injured and picking up as many niggles as I did. I wouldn’t say it’s been an easy period to live with me or to be around me.
“I was ready to go for a long, long time, from a point of view that I was mentally on the field in terms of being willing to be out there. It’s just been the case that my body has got in the way at times. Well most of the time, actually.
“The injuries sort of came at a really frustrating point. You are a couple of days off getting on the field, you have been named in the team in the week and then in the Thursday session or the captain’s run you pick up a niggle and it sets you back.
“What I would say is that I appreciate it a lot more now.
During his time on the sidelines, the 21-cap Wales international did hone his coaching skills with the WRU’s player-to-coach programme, also
SCARLETS Vs glasgow warriors
doing a bit of coaching with his local club side Cardiff Harlequins as well as helping mentor Scarlets Academy fly-half Josh Phillips, like him, a former Ysgol Glantaf pupil.
“I enjoyed the course, I also did a bit of charity work with the Sione Mullane Foundation, which is very close to my heart and generally tried to support the boys here, to be of use around the place,” he adds.
“I played a lot of rugby as a youngster. Despite the injuries, you are still looking at the thick end of 20 games a season since I started pro rugby. I’ve tried to help the younger players in the squad to understand what the coaches were trying to get out of the week and what the coaches were looking for on the weekend.
As for the immediate challenges, Patchell and his Scarlets team-mates are hoping to gain some momentum with a win over Glasgow this evening to ignite what has been a hugely frustrating campaign “Inevitably things take time to bed in,” he adds. “We have been tweaking the way we are trying to play the game, we have had boys coming back from injury and we have had a big turnover of coaching staff. Inevitably, these things take time to come together.
