1 month ago
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Autumn Nations Series: England v New Zealand
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday 2 November Kick-off: 15:10 GMT
Coverage: Listen to unrecorded commentary connected BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds and travel unrecorded substance commentary connected the BBC Sport website and app.
Professional athletes are utilized to dealing with setbacks, but for England and Sale hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie the past fewer years person been particularly turbulent.
Go backmost to 2021 and Cowan-Dickie was 1 of the champion hookers successful the world, a starting British and Irish Lion and a treble victor with Exeter.
But a cervix cognition astatine the commencement of 2023 went wrong, causing nervus harm successful his limb that took much than a twelvemonth to heal.
And then, arsenic helium tried to enactment his mode backmost to his erstwhile self, his bosom skipped retired of bushed playing for Sale successful January.
“I’ve had a spot of a unspeakable time,” helium tells the Rugby Union Weekly podcast successful the sunshine of England’s grooming campy successful Girona.
Capped 41 times, fittingness and wellness has meant Cowan-Dickie has not added to that tally since November 2022.
“The cervix cognition was rather a regular decompression, but I came retired with a damaged nervus and my limb took astir 16 months to get backmost to really playing OK,” helium explained.
“For the archetypal 4 oregon 5 months I couldn’t truly get my limb disconnected my side, I couldn’t devour with a weapon oregon fork, and I was lone truly bicep-curling 5kg.”
Cowan-Dickie did articulation England’s grooming campy earlier the Rugby World Cup, but was released aboriginal erstwhile it was wide helium was immoderate mode disconnected a afloat recovery.
“They accidental aft 9 months you hopefully spot 70% strength, but I decidedly didn’t person that.
"It was a determination we each made that I was capable to play, but performance-wise you request a beardown arm, truthful I didn’t execute arsenic good arsenic I wanted to past year, which got maine down a spot I think.
“Last play I was playing but obscurity adjacent arsenic good arsenic I could person owed to my arm, and past my bosom successful 1 of the games [Sale against La Rochelle successful January 2024] flipped into AF (atrial fibrillation) and went retired of rhythm.
“I went to the infirmary and they enactment maine connected a drip, hoping it would flick backmost by itself, which it did implicit 24 hours.
“Then I had the tests, MRIs and I had a portable ECG instrumentality connected maine for a while, and they didn’t get thing backmost from it. Touch wood, everything has been good ever since.
“They said it’s not truly common, but much communal successful aged radical and athletes.”
Cowan-Dickie should ne'er person been astatine Sale successful the archetypal place, having signed a woody to articulation Montpellier successful the summertime of 2023. But that determination broke down aft the French nine cancelled his contract, citing concerns implicit his fitness.
There were besides reports of an alcohol-fuelled incident portion having his aesculapian successful France, thing Cowan-Dickie puts down to a “misunderstanding”.
The determination to Sale kept live his England career. Lifestyle-wise, though, things had to change.
Cowan-Dickie was a renowned gamer, erstwhile topping planetary leaderboards successful Call of Duty. But those 10-hour gaming sessions had to go.
“I’m a precise addictive idiosyncratic successful astir things I do, truthful erstwhile I game, I crippled for ridiculous hours,” helium explained.
“I was fig 1 successful the satellite astatine Hardcore Search and Destroy. That was backmost successful the clip I was injured with my genu and was playing 10 hours a day.
“When I was younger, it was fine, but present I americium getting a spot older, routine-wise it conscionable wasn’t bully for me. I would crippled until the anserine hours.
“I would spell to furniture late, aftermath up conscionable astir connected time, not bid precise well. And I would beryllium tired. So I got into a amended regular successful the off-season, and my limb has travel back, truthful that mightiness person helped.
“My caput is conscionable better, I conscionable deliberation clearer and americium not arsenic erratic successful mundane life.”
Alcohol, too, has bitten the dust.
“I haven’t drunk successful astir 4 and half, 5 months,” helium said. “I usually person a bully acold brew aft the crippled successful the changing room. Now it’s a bully acold coke.
“It’s erratic and I don’t similar however I consciousness aft it, truthful successful presumption of mundane temper and intelligence health, I conscionable consciousness happier.”
Physically and mentally, Cowan-Dickie feels helium is successful arsenic bully a spot arsenic ever. At the property of 31, determination mightiness yet beryllium clip to rediscover the signifier that made him a world-beater.
With skipper Jamie George and up-and-comer Theo Dan commandeering the fig 2 jersey of late, helium faces a conflict to unit his mode into the 23-man squad.
But erstwhile Cowan-Dickie says helium is conscionable thankful to beryllium successful the squad again, you decidedly judge him.
“I consciousness similar I americium backmost much similar myself,” helium added.
“I haven’t truly been performing for a agelong time, truthful I consciousness similar I americium improving crippled to crippled and I decidedly consciousness similar determination is much to come. I americium excited."
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