Ruddock wary of ‘dangerous animal’ with Biggar heart
With the rehab from his Grade 3 hamstring injury ahead of schedule — he should be available for Leinster’s Champions Cup quarter-final crack at Saracens come April — the 27-year Irish international could spare the time to launch the Tackle Your Feelings app and chew the fat.
His backstory is well-known: Dublin-born but Welsh-raised to Irish mum Bernadette and dad Mike, who coached his native Wales to a Grand Slam. Goes without saying, then, that he appreciates the threat this week having learned so much of his rugby across the Irish Sea.
He played either with or against a good chunk of those lining out in red this Saturday before moving back to Ireland in his late teens — Justin Tipuric, Josh Navidi, Scott Williams, and Liam Williams among them — but it is his take on out-half Dan Biggar that stands out.
Ruddock was a year below Biggar but good enough to play on the same underage teams. It is the work ethic of the player, who played alongside him with the Ospreys academy and now returns from injury to face Ireland this week, that stands out all these years later.
“I obviously haven’t played with him for a long time, just against him, but he’s got all the attributes, really. I just remember when we played together that a lot of it was to do with that mindset he had. He’d fight for everything.
“I remember my dad always saying that he’d make a good 12. He wasn’t afraid at all to put his body on the line. He would be playing 10 but he’d be making as many tackles as a lot of back-rows back then, so he’s got heart.
“He’s a tough customer and hugely, hugely competitive. Not too dissimilar to Johnny Sexton in my mind. From playing with Johnny and Dan, they’ve just got that dogged sort of competitive nature about them.”
The same could be said for Wales as a collective.
Rhys Priestland believes Wales will be smarting from the focus placed on a possible Grand Slam decider between Ireland and England in London on Sat Patrick’s Day. Ruddock talked of “a dangerous animal coming over here trying to prove a point”.
The Leinster man would obviously love to be opposing his old friends come the weekend but he is no stranger to injury and so the disappointment of his latest setback was quickly assimilated. To such a point that he has actually enjoyed the gruelling rehab process. Not a sentiment many players have expressed before.
Still, society is changing and rugby along with it. The strong, silent type so admired through the 20th century is slowly giving way to the realisation that feelings need airing and Ruddock is among those who realise it is good to talk.
He spoke eloquently of the mental anguish that can come with physical injury for a man in his profession, and of the possible benefits to be accrued by players and ordinary punters alike in utilising the new app and other support services.
His Leinster and Ireland teammate Jack McGrath has spoken before about this new openness that is apparent in professional dressing rooms and it is no coincidence that both of those sides have embraced the concept of ‘brotherhood’ this season.
“It’s a great thing to be able to talk about these sorts of things,” said Ruddock. “In terms of being a bit more open about it, is going to help the squad environment, performance and things like that. Understanding that mindset, if you can develop that side it’s going to help you in terms of your performance.
“That’s the selfish side of things but also, if you have a culture where people are a little bit more open and there’s a little bit more of wanting to see how everyone is doing, you feel like people actually care about you as a person. That’s good for people’s wellbeing in general.”
Ruddock and Welsh international Rhys Priestland have teamed up with Rugby Players Ireland and Zurich to launch the Tackle Your Feelings app, which aims to encourage users to be proactive about their mental wellbeing using sports psychology and positive psychology principles.
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