'There were times I was like, rugby is killing me’ - Calvin Nash hopeful injury woes are behind him

RETURN OF THE NASH: Munster's Calvin Nash on the field after a tackle on Willie le Roux of Vodacom Bulls. Pic: Nic Bothma/Sportsfile.

Another week, another Munster squad update and yet one more announcement that Calvin Nash has successfully come through a return from injury.

The Ireland wing is bemused as to why his season has descended into the stop-start frustration that has restricted the 28-year-old to just eight appearances.

It has not stopped Munster securing Nash’s services for another two years to July 2028, his latest contract extension announced on Tuesday, and though that piece of business was concluded in February, the wing’s sharp finish for the opening try in the 45-15 URC rout of Benetton in Italy last Saturday was timely reminder of his worth to the province.

This Saturday at Thomond Park should see him earn his 100th Munster cap when Ulster pay a visit for a URC Round 16 derby clash that the home side desperately needs to win to inch closer to the end of season play-offs at the end of May.

Three regular season games remain, and having Nash available for them is a bonus for coaches and supporters alike, never mind the player himself, at the end of a difficult campaign.

Two shoulder injuries, the first on his seasonal debut at home to Edinburgh in October, and two concussions have dismayed a player who felt he was in flying form coming into 2025-26.

“It was mad because I felt like a had a proper good pre-season and like it was one time where my body felt very good and I couldn't wait to get out there,” Nash said.

“I felt like in the first 20 minutes of the Edinburgh game, ‘I'm humming here now’, and then hurt my shoulder after the first 20 minutes and I literally played the rest of the game, and I couldn't lift my arm.

“I was calling for the ball off JJ (Hanrahan), trying to stick out my arm and I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ so then I was out for a couple of months with that.

“Then came back, played the Ulster game (on January 2) and then went into Toulon and essentially the exact same thing happened in the Toulon game. And I picked up a concussion. So, it was a double whammy, the same injury. I was essentially like, ‘What the hell is going on?’

“Over in South Africa then, felt great in South Africa, another concussion (24 minutes in at the Bulls) and I was just kind of like, ‘What, again?'

“I was kind of like, ‘I'm doing everything right, but for some reason it's not going right for me.’ But look, touch wood now, that's the end of it.”

The regular setbacks had sent Nash in to see Munster’s head of sport and performance psychology Cathal Sheridan for guidance that has proved invaluable to the player.

“It was so tough. I thought not being selected and stuff was tough when I was younger, but this was like a whole different thing. I was questioning, like, ‘Am I actually doing everything?’

Calvin Nash during a Munster trainign session. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie.

“It’s weird how your mind works. You kind of go, ‘Am I good enough now to get back into the team?’

“I suppose all those kinds of things you're battling with, but then you're also trying to battle with getting better every day and pushing yourself out of the comfort zone.

"It's quite easy to just turn up every day, but that was probably the toughest thing, to stay positive even when I just kept getting setbacks. But yeah, we're here now, feel positive, feel good.”

Nash added: “I would be massively (into the mental side of the game), to be fair. I kind of caught it early, to be fair, and that's probably good. Cathal Sheridan has been very good. He’s great to chat to. A lot of times, I wasn't even chatting about rugby.

“I was just like, ‘I'm starting to be so negative even outside of rugby.’ Like, I'd wake up and go straight away, ‘Ah, the weather.’ It’s so easy to do that. When you're already in that negative mindset, it's hard to sometimes pull yourself out of it.

“But he was really good. It was probably good in a way, like there were times where I was just like, ‘Oh my God, rugby is like killing me, what am I doing?’ And he was just like, ‘Yeah, it's okay to think that way, but if you wrote that down on a page and read it back to yourself, would you agree with it?’ For me I was kind of like, there's not a chance, this is your dream job. He was really good with that.

“I've been lucky with injuries the last few years, but this year has obviously been mental, so it was good that I didn't spiral too much.”

The wing now has his sights set on regaining a foothold in the Ireland squad ahead of the 2027 World Cup in Australia. A Six Nations ever-present in the title success of 2024, Nash’s 12th and most recent cap came with his fourth Test try in the summer 2025 rout of Portugal.

The superlative current form of fellow wings Rob Baloucoune and Tommy O’Brien and his extended times on the sideline have understandably made him philosophical about his prospects of adding to his international resume.

“I'd love to go to a World Cup. That's a massive goal of mine. I missed out the last time.

“Obviously, I want to be competitive and I'm in quite a competitive position at the moment. There's a lot of lads going very well, so I'm aware of that but I just need to get my own stuff right and see what happens.

“To be honest, it's obviously in the back of my mind, but I really just feel like how much time that I've been out, I just want to have a strong finish to the year, and whatever happens, happens.

“I just really want to just put my best foot forward with Munster and I get my confidence proper back up again playing rugby.

“You know, I feel like I've felt really good going into games and then picked up knocks or something throughout the year and I just want to finish it strong.”