Christian Lealiifano makes his rugby return for Brumbies 10 months after being diagnosed with cancer

TEN months following his cancer diagnosis, Christian Lealiifano has made his rugby return after coming off the Brumbies bench for a trial game in Singapore.

Christian Lealiifano.

TEN months after being diagnosed with cancer, Christian Lealiifano has made his rugby return.

The 29-year-old Lealiifano was named on the replacements bench for the Brumbies’ match with the Asia Pacific Dragons in Singapore on Thursday night.

Lealiifano, who has 19 caps for Australia and played for the Wallabies against the British and Irish Lions in 2013, has made a remarkable recovery since news of his leukaemia diagnosis last August sent shockwaves throughout the worldwide rugby community.

Tonight's Plus500 Brumbies bench has been named and we welcome back Tomas Cubelli and Christian Lealiifano!#Unbreakable #wearecbr pic.twitter.com/Mk3ZEDOUq0

— Brumbies (@BrumbiesRugby) June 22, 2017

Diagnosed with Leukaemia just 10 months ago @CLealiifano named on the bench for the @BrumbiesRugby match tonight in Singapore. Awesome news. pic.twitter.com/rg8qjWK80l

— Paul Glover (@paul_glover21) June 22, 2017

He got onto the field in the 49th minute of a match designed to get the Brumbies up to speed for the resumption of the Super Rugby competition in July.

He assumed the kicking duties after coming on to the field, landing five conversions as the Brumbies down the Dragons 61-14.

49' | Welcome back to the rugby field Christian Lealiifano! #APDvBRU

— Brumbies (@BrumbiesRugby) June 22, 2017

FULLTIME | Great performance from the Brumbies! We take a 61-14 win here in Singapore.#APDvBRU #Unbreakable pic.twitter.com/dhNqe0I6b6

— Brumbies (@BrumbiesRugby) June 22, 2017

Just last week, Brumbies teammate Scott Sio said he was inspired by Lealiifano’s imminent comeback.

“He’s been full training with the (Brumbies) team, he’s been carving the starters up so I’ve been giving (Brumbies co-captain) Sam Carter a bit of flak,” Sio said.

“It’s unreal to see. He hasn’t lost a step and that’s a credit to him in his rehab and his approach to coming back to the game.

Christian Lealiifano has made a welcome return to rugby after 10 months out.

“When Christian comes back, no matter who that’s for, it’ll be a pretty special moment for world rugby as a whole.

“His story and his journey he’s been on in the last year has been so inspirational,” Sio said.

“He really puts a lot of these minor injuries into perspective. To see how willing he is to put his body on the line at training, to make everyone else better around him, it’s truly great and it’s something that I’ve tried really bringing into this camp.

“You rarely see him get angry or frustrated in the group. To be in the position he is as captain, you’re following his every lead.

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Christian Lealiifano’s dedication has inspired his Brumbies teammates.

“To see how calm and collected he is with the adversity he’s facing on a personal front, it really tells you to sit back and put everything in perspective and say, ‘it’s really not that tough if we’re willing to stick together and push through it’.

“He’s kept the group enthused off the field, as well. Just those little one per centers, remembering that every little part of the game is going to count at the end of the day, everything we do to prepare Monday to Friday is all going to count on the 80 minutes on Saturday.

The Brumbies are set to be the only Australian team in the Super Rugby finals.

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Originally published as Christian Lealiifano makes his rugby return for Brumbies 10 months after being diagnosed with cancer