Marc Stcherbina stepped back on to the Rodney Parade pitch at the match against Leinster for the first time since suffering a career threatening injury in Toulouse. The 32-year-old Australian underwent surgery after an accidental collision during the Heineken Cup pool game at Stade Ernest Wallon, which left him with a fractured neck and extensive ligament damage.
“Stepping out on the pitch in front of the Dragons faithful was a significant occasion for me and I’m delighted to have come this far.
The events of that day don’t really haunt me. I’ve only seen the footage of the injury once, which was more surreal than upsetting. I do remember, in an attempt to calm myself down and think positively during the ten minutes that I was paralysed, I considered all of the paralympic sports I’d be suited to! I also remember the indescribable relief I felt the moment I could feel my legs again. Because I lived through the worst-case scenario – even though it was only for a few minutes, I don’t have the same fear about it that I might have. I suppose that having recovered well, the predominant feeling is that I’m very lucky as opposed to dwelling on what might have been
I was overwhelmed by the support given to me, not only by my own teammates, coaches, and Dragons supporters, but also by the players and officials of Toulouse. Several of the players came to visit me which was great – although it was not the best situation to be in whilst trying to work on my rusty French!
On returning back home I remember the Kiwi contingent of James Arlidge and Tom Willis being the first to pop round and see me. Then a few more boys were pencilled in to see me, but as soon as they realised I was up and about and in good spirits they soon stopped worrying and it was back to the usual banter. I don’t need to name names, they know who they are (Joe Bearman!)
Rehabilitation is a slow and often frustrating process, particularly for someone as impatient and competitive as I am. My right arm and shoulder suffered some nerve damage so I’m working really hard on that as well as the neck-strengthening exercises. It can be monotonous, especially as my neck isn’t strong enough to take impact so I’m not allowed to run yet. I‘m grateful to have such dedicated and skilled medical staff around me. They’ve helped me back to living a relatively normal life outside of sport. I would also like to mention how brilliant the club has been in supporting me through this difficult period. They’ve been behind me 100% in my effort to return to playing. Obviously time will tell whether that’s going to be possible or not - I wouldn’t want to spend the best part of next season in rehab, as I would be aiming for two full seasons of rugby before retirement.
Probably the hardest part of being injured is having to watch the lads from the sideline which never fails to give me itchy feet. One of the most enjoyable and at the same time, difficult games to watch was the home game against the Ospreys just before Christmas. The run of losses prior to my injury had really frustrated the camp and the pressure was on to get a result and put us back in the mix.
Having endured the disappointment of the defeats, I would have loved to have been part of that victory.
Apart from my rehab work which is quite time-consuming, I have not been idle over the last few months. It’s difficult to stay in the centre of the team when you’re not putting your body on the line at the weekend so I’ve been finding other ways to support the boys. I’ve been watching game footage to help the analysts, offering my perspective from the sidelines at training and games and encouraging the younger lads that are set to take the Dragons to higher feats.
I’ve also been very involved with the Community Department. The poor kids in the region have probably seen more of me than they would ever want to! Now I’ve had my neck brace off, I’m out in the region presenting trophies, offering coaching advice and talking to schools. I have enjoyed taking part in the different aspects of life at Rodney Parade and having the time to coach kids and attempting to develop their skills has been extremely rewarding.
Back on the field it has been a roller coaster this season – as a team there have been glimpses of brilliance, but we have failed to grind out enough wins. Progress is being made though and I think next year could be time to reap the rewards with such young talent in the squad ready to mature.
This year has been a building block, and even though results haven’t gone our way I don’t think we’ve been overly outclassed by anyone - even Toulouse. We had an encouraging Heineken Cup campaign but just lacked that closing-out ability and killer instinct which is a must at the top level, but it will come with experience. The only way to move forward is to learn from those disappointments - then we can aim higher next season and turn over the big teams and silence our critics.
My personal highlight of the season was to be given the honour of leading the team out as captain against Newcastle in the EDF Energy Cup, particularly having only arriving last summer. To be handed the faith of captaincy was very flattering with a new bunch of lads and the satisfaction of winning was a bonus, so I’m proud to say my record as captain of the dragons stands at one from one… With regards to the captaincy, I must say that Tom Willis has done a fantastic job – he is definitely a born leader.
I’ve also enjoyed the social side of rugby at the Dragons so far as there is a lot of banter and wit flying around with the likes of “Gagsy” Wyatt, Wayne Evans and Andrew Hall to name a few who never fail to make me laugh. As for me I’m set for a hard summer of rehabilitation and possibly a short trip away, but at this stage I’m focused on getting back on the pitch.
I have learned many lessons from the sideline, none more so than how easy it is to get frustrated and be critical when the team are struggling. It gives me an appreciation of what you, the fans here, must go through but I urge you to keep faith as we are all gunning for the same goal. Never underestimate the uplifting effect of your cheers from the stand.
I would like to finish with a massive thank you, to all the supporters, for your concern and good wishes through my injury. I know it hasn’t been plain sailing but I do believe that with continued hard work and your support the future should be bright for the region
Marc Stcherbina
“Stepping out on the pitch in front of the Dragons faithful was a significant occasion for me and I’m delighted to have come this far.
The events of that day don’t really haunt me. I’ve only seen the footage of the injury once, which was more surreal than upsetting. I do remember, in an attempt to calm myself down and think positively during the ten minutes that I was paralysed, I considered all of the paralympic sports I’d be suited to! I also remember the indescribable relief I felt the moment I could feel my legs again. Because I lived through the worst-case scenario – even though it was only for a few minutes, I don’t have the same fear about it that I might have. I suppose that having recovered well, the predominant feeling is that I’m very lucky as opposed to dwelling on what might have been
I was overwhelmed by the support given to me, not only by my own teammates, coaches, and Dragons supporters, but also by the players and officials of Toulouse. Several of the players came to visit me which was great – although it was not the best situation to be in whilst trying to work on my rusty French!
On returning back home I remember the Kiwi contingent of James Arlidge and Tom Willis being the first to pop round and see me. Then a few more boys were pencilled in to see me, but as soon as they realised I was up and about and in good spirits they soon stopped worrying and it was back to the usual banter. I don’t need to name names, they know who they are (Joe Bearman!)
Rehabilitation is a slow and often frustrating process, particularly for someone as impatient and competitive as I am. My right arm and shoulder suffered some nerve damage so I’m working really hard on that as well as the neck-strengthening exercises. It can be monotonous, especially as my neck isn’t strong enough to take impact so I’m not allowed to run yet. I‘m grateful to have such dedicated and skilled medical staff around me. They’ve helped me back to living a relatively normal life outside of sport. I would also like to mention how brilliant the club has been in supporting me through this difficult period. They’ve been behind me 100% in my effort to return to playing. Obviously time will tell whether that’s going to be possible or not - I wouldn’t want to spend the best part of next season in rehab, as I would be aiming for two full seasons of rugby before retirement.
Probably the hardest part of being injured is having to watch the lads from the sideline which never fails to give me itchy feet. One of the most enjoyable and at the same time, difficult games to watch was the home game against the Ospreys just before Christmas. The run of losses prior to my injury had really frustrated the camp and the pressure was on to get a result and put us back in the mix.
Having endured the disappointment of the defeats, I would have loved to have been part of that victory.
Apart from my rehab work which is quite time-consuming, I have not been idle over the last few months. It’s difficult to stay in the centre of the team when you’re not putting your body on the line at the weekend so I’ve been finding other ways to support the boys. I’ve been watching game footage to help the analysts, offering my perspective from the sidelines at training and games and encouraging the younger lads that are set to take the Dragons to higher feats.
I’ve also been very involved with the Community Department. The poor kids in the region have probably seen more of me than they would ever want to! Now I’ve had my neck brace off, I’m out in the region presenting trophies, offering coaching advice and talking to schools. I have enjoyed taking part in the different aspects of life at Rodney Parade and having the time to coach kids and attempting to develop their skills has been extremely rewarding.
Back on the field it has been a roller coaster this season – as a team there have been glimpses of brilliance, but we have failed to grind out enough wins. Progress is being made though and I think next year could be time to reap the rewards with such young talent in the squad ready to mature.
This year has been a building block, and even though results haven’t gone our way I don’t think we’ve been overly outclassed by anyone - even Toulouse. We had an encouraging Heineken Cup campaign but just lacked that closing-out ability and killer instinct which is a must at the top level, but it will come with experience. The only way to move forward is to learn from those disappointments - then we can aim higher next season and turn over the big teams and silence our critics.
My personal highlight of the season was to be given the honour of leading the team out as captain against Newcastle in the EDF Energy Cup, particularly having only arriving last summer. To be handed the faith of captaincy was very flattering with a new bunch of lads and the satisfaction of winning was a bonus, so I’m proud to say my record as captain of the dragons stands at one from one… With regards to the captaincy, I must say that Tom Willis has done a fantastic job – he is definitely a born leader.
I’ve also enjoyed the social side of rugby at the Dragons so far as there is a lot of banter and wit flying around with the likes of “Gagsy” Wyatt, Wayne Evans and Andrew Hall to name a few who never fail to make me laugh. As for me I’m set for a hard summer of rehabilitation and possibly a short trip away, but at this stage I’m focused on getting back on the pitch.
I have learned many lessons from the sideline, none more so than how easy it is to get frustrated and be critical when the team are struggling. It gives me an appreciation of what you, the fans here, must go through but I urge you to keep faith as we are all gunning for the same goal. Never underestimate the uplifting effect of your cheers from the stand.
I would like to finish with a massive thank you, to all the supporters, for your concern and good wishes through my injury. I know it hasn’t been plain sailing but I do believe that with continued hard work and your support the future should be bright for the region
Marc Stcherbina
