Umaga battles knee injury

Injured All Blacks vice-captain Tana Umaga today insisted he had worked too hard in preparing for the World Cup to give up his chances of glory without a fight.

Umaga was in a positive and determined frame of mind as he made his first appearance in the five days since rupturing the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

He was walking unhindered after a session in the gym and with further rehab planned for later in the day, the 30-year-old was upbeat about his chances of remaining with the squad in Australia.

“If I didn’t have that goal I’d probably be at home by now. I am determined to play in this tournament,” he said.

“It’s been a long year and we have achieved a lot as a team and to round it off being successful at this tournament is what I am aiming for.

“I have worked hard to get to the World Cup and I want to be successful. That is what I am aiming for.

“The coaches have shown faith in me so that has given me confidence to keep working hard.

“We worked hard to get where we are now and I didn’t really want that to be the end of my competition.”

As a senior member of the squad, Umaga insisted his own personal disappointments have had to be shunted to one side for the good of the All Blacks’ tilt at a second World Cup crown.

“I have just the same role of being a senior player, helping out where I can, being positive around them,” he said.

“I’ve got to be the ‘up guy’, I can’t let my disappointment rub off on anyone else and affect the mood of the team.

“I won’t be doing that. I’ll be positive – run water or carry bags, whatever it takes to be part of this team.

“But I know that if I don’t come through in the next couple of weeks I’ll be going home.

“I’ll take myself home, I don’t want to be excess luggage, I don’t want to hinder the team.”

It initially appeared Umaga’s tournament would be over after he collided with team-mate Carlos Spencer in New Zealand’s 70-7 victory over Italy.

As he lay on the Telstra Dome field, memories of Michael Jones’ shattering knee injury in 1989 came flooding back.

Jones, the legendary All Black flanker, required a total knee reconstruction after a maul collapsed on him during a Test against Argentina.

“The first thing I thought of was Michael Jones,” said Umaga. “When I had done it I knew it was the same kind of injury. I knew it wasn’t as bad and I tried to stand up straight away and walk it off.

“Obviously your mind doesn’t think too well and you get up and try to deny it.”

After four tense days of waiting, the swelling on Umaga’s knee subsided enough for medics to diagnose the injury and rule there was a chance he could play again at the tournament.

Umaga’s position was, ironically, helped by the fact he ruptured rather than tore his ligament meaning no further damage could be done by over-exerting himself in rehab.

“I can’t do anything more to it, its gone,” he said.

“I ruptured it fully so there is no more damage I can do. I seem to be improving every day, which is good, and I’m pretty positive about the way it’s going.

“I feel I could probably run soon, but we will have to wait and see. “I can nearly get a full bend in it. There is a little bit of pain there, which is only natural with the swelling.

“It’s been pretty tough. I didn’t get much sleep over the first couple of days because I have been icing it 24 hours to keep the swelling down.

“The medical staff are great and have been giving me confidence, getting a lot of information from other surgeons.

“It is just a time thing and I don’t have much of that so we will have to go day by day.”