Waratahs skipper Dave Dennis may play Shute Shield next week despite serious cut

ONE week after suffering one of the most gruesome injuries ever seen on a rugby field, Waratahs’ captain Dave Dennis says he may play next week.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 23: Dave Dennis of the Waratahs is tackled during the round 15 Super Rugby match between the Rebels and the Waratahs at AAMI Park on May 23, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

ONE week after suffering one of the most gruesome injuries ever seen on a rugby field, the Waratahs’ captain courageous Dave Dennis has revealed he could return next week in the Shute Shield.

Dennis sustained a shocking gash to his right leg just above the knee during NSW’s win over the Chiefs in New Plymouth last weekend, which Waratahs coach Michael Cheika later described as the “worst cut I’ve ever seen”.

Despite medical staff advising him to come off the ground, Dennis continued to play and went on to score the decisive try by diving along the ground, which risked him tearing the gash open further.

When Dennis showed the Sunday Telegraph his injury afterwards, the wound was so large that tissue and muscle could be seen in the 10cm deep cut.

Dennis had 10 external and two internal stitches put in to sew up the horrific laceration after it had been cleaned for fear of infection.

While the injury looked ghastly, Dennis said it should not hinder his return to training this week.

“I should be able to do some running on it, maybe not weights at this stage, but if it feels alright and I can run on it I might come off the bench for 20 minutes next week for Sydney Uni,” Dennis said.

“I will definitely play the next week against Norths.”

Dennis, who was overlooked for the Wallabies squad, spent his week off nursing the injury – caused by the stray boot of teammate Kane Douglas.

“It was Dougie that got me, so I owe him one,” Dennis said.

“No, it wasn’t too bad, the biggest thing was the fear of it getting infected, they cleaned the grass and stuff out of it after the game at the ground.

“To see it flapping around wasn’t the best thing, it was lucky that it was pretty cold, it went a bit numb and I didn’t feel it.

“At the time the doctor wanted me to come off, but [Waratahs physiotherapist] Keiran Cleary was okay with me staying on.

“I looked up at the clock and saw there was about 10 minutes to go, I knew Wycliff Palu and Jacques Potgieter had gone off and we didn’t have any back-row cover, and I wanted to be on the field at the end to make calls for shots at goal and set-piece.

“It was painful but it was worth it.”

Dennis displayed tremendous fortitude to play on and score a runaway try that killed off the Chiefs and put NSW in prime position to take top spot on the Super Rugby ladder when the tournament resumes in three weeks.

And the timing of the injury, just before a break, was not lost on Dennis, who for years has seen the Tahs’ finals hopes fade due to injuries to key players at crucial times of the season.

“The boys have worked hard to harden their bodies up for this season,” Dennis said.

“There is also a little element of luck.

“We’ve been able to maintain the same squad, which in years gone by hasn’t been the case.

“Hopefully we can get all the Wallabies boys through these next three weeks injury-free.

“We’re starting to build a trait of resilience this season and we want to finish strong.

“The boys have shown good signs but we all know there is still a lot of hard to be done when we all get back for the rest of the season.”

Dennis will resume light training with the Waratahs this week and depending on the extent of healing on his cut, will make a call by Thursday if he sits on the bench for Uni against Parramatta at University Oval.

Originally published as Waratahs skipper Dave Dennis may play Shute Shield next week despite serious cut