Prop Darwin ruled out of World Cup Final

Australia prop Ben Darwin has been ruled out of the World Cup final but hopes to be well enough to attend next Saturday’s game.

The tight-head prop suffered a prolapsed disc in his neck during the Wallabies’ victory over New Zealand yesterday and temporarily lost feeling in his arms and legs after an awkward fall 49 minutes into the game.

Darwin lay motionless on the field at the Telstra Stadium as medics attended him for six minutes before he was eventually stretchered off and taken to hospital for tests.

“I heard a crack and immediately called out ’neck, neck, neck’ and to his credit Kees Meeuws stopped pushing, which was fortunate because I lost feeling in my body and he could have really crashed me into the ground,” said Darwin.

“When I was on the ground I had no feeling from my neck down for about two minutes. It was terrifying but the medical staff did a great job of getting me into the right position and then I felt pins and needles in my arms and legs, which was a great relief.

“I asked if they could make sure my wife knew I was okay as that was hugely important to me.

“In the ambulance on the way to hospital the staff were nice enough to put the game on the radio so I could hear what was going on. It was great to see the boys finish the match off.

“I’ll be in hospital for a couple of days at least while they monitor my condition but the doctors are happy with my progress so far.

“I desperately want to be able to sit with the team on the bench and cheer the boys on in the final.”

Darwin underwent an X-ray, which was clear, and a subsequent MRI scan showed no damage had been done to the spinal cord.

“He had a disc prolapse which touched on the spinal cord,” said Wallaby team doctor Martin Raftery

“The disc bulges centrally and touches on the spinal cord and that sends the spinal cord into temporary shock.

“He has recovered quite well. He has got full range back in both lower limbs and upper limbs and is in quite good spirits.

“He lost feeling in both legs and arms for a couple of minutes, that is why precaution was taken in removing him from the field, protecting his neck.

“That was resolved and the investigations confirmed no permanent damage.”

Whether Darwin will be in a position to play rugby again is not a question being considered by the Wallaby team management.

“Our major concern is that the acute injury is fine. There will be a full investigation and we will address other issues at a later date,” said Raftery.

“It’s not appropriate to look at that, we will let the dust settle and look at that.”

Australia coach Eddie Jones will most likely name Al Baxter in the starting line-up for next Saturday's final, marking an incredible rise for the Waratahs prop who only made his Test debut in August as a late replacement for the game against New Zealand in Auckland.

“At this stage our concern is just with Ben’s health,” said Jones. “We just want him to recover as quickly as possible.

“He is an important member of the side but we have some very good replacements in Al Baxter and Matt Dunning.

“It’s a loss for the side but we are more concerned with Ben’s health.”