posted May 8, 2007

This is a massive blow for England, in the last 6N Ellis really proved himself to be the future England No9. He added real attacking venom from the base of the scrum that England have been lacking since the last WC. As an England fan I am gutted we seem to be losing potential WC players every week.

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posted May 8, 2007

having previously suffering this injury within rugby myself theres a feeling that changing the structure of rugby season or field type will not limit such injury. its a case if its going to happen it will and there is very little players can do.
unfortunately for harry ellis the timing is not perfect nor was it for bristols no 8, dan ward smith or that of richard hill, and none have links to being over played or about turf. Richard hill initial ACL injury was a twisting motion when tackling and dans was a case of the knee buckling to pressure when being tackled with the ball. Admitingly my first ACL injury was due to twisting with a hint of my studs being caught however the two after were not stud related i anyu kind. ACL injuries has an air of unpredictability??

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posted May 9, 2007

It's rugby - injuries happen.

Just galls me that it happened in the play offs. Contrived games which completely undermine the efforts over the whole season....and may now cost us one of our best players in the RWC - totally avoidable.

Ellis would be a big loss in RWC if he's not fully firing. Coming back from this sort of injury is one thing, but recapturing that extra one or two per cent that make the difference at the top level is quite another.

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posted May 9, 2007

Yeah i will be gutted if ellis isn't able to make it for the world cup, for me he seemed to step up to the plate during the 6 nations and was one of our stand-out players (one of the only to be fair!! ) . who would be the best stand in? i hear wigglesworth is good but unfortunately because im a student i cant afford sky so don't get to see as much rugby as i would like. i have heard good things though

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posted May 9, 2007

Bad news for Ellis, but a possible blessing in disguise. Ellis has shown before he is a fast healer. Hopefully he will recover in the 8-10 week period suggested and be available for RWC. I know he was not due to tour SA, but he would have featured in the pre RWC fixtures. If injured then, that would have ruled him out completely.
Let him do what he has to do and recover. Ashton can look to Perry, Richards, Hodgson and Wigglesworth to see who will be considered with him for the RWC squad.

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posted May 9, 2007

ruckinghell

I completely agree with you about the fact it was avoidable, the play offs are just a money spinning exercise. im not sayin this just because im a gloucester fan (and cos we got completely undone by it in 2003!!) but it does seem a bit unecessary.

It makes a bit of a mockery to have champions that are potentially 15 points from winning the league. what is the rational for it? is it to try and even out the fact that some teams loose lots of players during the 6N and AI's (something Gloucester benefited from hugely this year and in 2003)

england have lost james forrester too because of this, with a similar injury i think...?

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posted May 9, 2007

007 - Thanks for that. Very interesting. I did notice the report is dated 2002. And I wonder, with players bulking up considerably since the last World Cup whether those stats are still valid. It gives an indicator though.

Melton - the fixture schedule has got to be the big issue for English rugby currently. Its a real dog's breakfast. GPL, EDF, HC, GPL again, AIs, HC again, 6 Nations, GPL, 6 Nations, GPL, HC, EDF, GPL, HC, Play-offs, HC, Summer internationals. Its absurd. But you can't just lay it at the door of the RFU. The clubs are party to the games and tournaments they play in. And if they are prepared to boycott the HC over money, then they why don't they stand up for themselves over fixture scheduling? Well, the answer seems clear to me. They are chasing money too.
In the midst of all this, of course, are the players. And you only have to look at England's growing injury list to see they are not being looked after properly.
A good lesson would be a visit to one of the NFL franchises where the players are incredibly carefully managed and looked after. The likes of Walkinshaw, Barwell, Wray are just small fry really!

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posted May 9, 2007

I too have suffered ACL injuries in the past, due to playing rugby. In both cases I required knee reconstructions and have done some research on the injury.
If as feared Ellis has ruptured his ACL he might attempt to play with conservative rehab (no operation) which could see him back playing in two to three months. However,whilst this might be a short-term option with the WC around the corner, there is only a 15% chance of this working and could lead to serious long term damage.
The other option is a knee reconstruction. Depending on the damage and rehab this is conventionally a minimum of 6 months out of rugby. In the ARL there is a mandatory 12 months out of action. However, some American specialists who champion aggressive rehab have had NFL players back in 3 months.
Therefore, Ellis would appear to have a chance of making the WC but conventional opinion suggests not.
Injuries of this type appear to be on the increase in rugby; pitch conditions, boot and stud type, genetics have all been put forward as to explanations but no-one knows for certain. Personally I would suggest physiology and being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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posted May 9, 2007

Ellis has started 16 games for the Tigers this year plus 5 England starts, while Bemand has started 12 and Murphy 9. Thats pretty well spread out among the scrum halfs really. Not really over playing. More about pure bad luck.

England need him in the squad badly as the other available scrum halves just aren't in the same league as Ellis at the moment. Wrigglesworth is the closest to Ellis we've got otherwise.

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posted May 10, 2007

Was Ellis carrying a previous injury to his knee? It was quite strapped up at the time.

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