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'It was just pure, sheer devastation' - How Sam Skinner dealt with the worst news of his career

(Photo by Ian Rutherford/PA Images via Getty Images)

In the office of Britain’s top hamstring surgeon, the news struck Sam Skinner harder than any opponent, a double-dose of reality that left him feeling like the entire England pack had just trampled over the top of him.

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Deep down, despite the little fibs he’d tell himself, he knew it was coming. And now, the last vestiges of hope to which he had clung were obliterated.

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The muscle the Exeter Chief had damaged on duty for Scotland against France a week earlier would need surgery. His World Cup? Gone in the blink of an eye.

“I felt I was playing the best rugby of my career to date,” Skinner says. “It was just pure, sheer devastation.

“When it first happened, it was all just a shock. You sit in the physio room and hear Murrayfield going up and the main focus is the boys winning the game. But then it really starts to sink in when you’re sat in the changing room, the adrenaline goes and you realise how sore your leg actually is. I just knew it wasn’t going to be a couple of weeks out when I couldn’t walk.

“There’s always hope, I was hanging on to hope for a couple of weeks that if I still trained hard, worked hard, maybe I could get called out.

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“But when the top hamstring surgeon in the country says, ‘No, this is the situation – fact’… well, that’s that done then.”

Skinner, a dynamic thoroughbred forward equally adept at lock or on the blind-side flank, has masses to like about his game. His line-out streetsmarts and leadership, his ballast about the paddock, and his ferocity in the collision are hugely prized by Gregor Townsend. The smart money was always on him making the plane.

When the surgeon finally pierced that dream, Skinner made two calls – the first, to his parents and most emphatic supporters; the second, to his old university pals in London. They made damned certain there would be no slide into melancholy.

“Oh, you’re not going to the World Cup?” one said. “No worries, mate. Crack on.”

A night of Guinness and craic in the big smoke beckoned. It was a blessed release.

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“I went straight to the pub and had a few pints,” Skinner says. “Obviously not good for the hamstring but mentally, it was exactly what I needed.

“It was a really nice evening to take my mind off what was the worst news of my career. In the grand scheme of life, and compared to everything that’s going on just now, it’s not a big deal at all, but it felt like a big deal at the time.

“I didn’t get smashed, I just had a couple of beers and it was more the camaraderie with my old uni mates. They’re not in the professional rugby environment and it was nice, being in a whole different little bubble in a pub in London.”

Sam Skinner tunnel Scotland
Injury ruled Exeter’s Sam Skinner out of RWC selection contention with Scotland

Six months out of the game gave Skinner a rare chance to attack his weaknesses. He rebuilt his hamstring strength, of course, but he could also solidify his core, refine his slightly crooked and aching shoulders. These were tangible, physical steps on the path to recovery, but he began to hate the fact that he wasn’t out there in the trenches, toiling for his mates.

“You sort of feel out the game when you’re not playing,” Skinner says. “You feel less required. The way I dealt with that was helping the team as much as I could with analysis and that sort of thing. I wanted to help the team move forward, I didn’t like not being able to help.

“I’m not alone in saying that when you’re in rehab, particularly long-term rehab, you can feel neglected and you can feel a little bit less important.

“The way I combated that was by talking through line-outs with some of the forwards that were playing week in, week out, offering my perspective.

“A lot of the players are so busy with playing and doing other things that I could take some of their time and help them out with certain things and give my opinion, and that not only helped me but I’d like to think it helped them too.”

Almost eight months since his hamstring erupted, Skinner has won back his place in the Scotland squad, if not quite reasserted himself as a first pick in a ferociously competitive Chiefs pack. The coronavirus pandemic has put a hold on all of that for now, though, and it has also brought the perilous financial state of so many grand rugby institutions into sharp focus.

Among England’s elite, Exeter are perhaps best positioned to weather the storm, but the storm is coming nonetheless. As a rookie, Skinner took time to grow into his physique and blossom into a Premiership-calibre operator. He had nearly given up the game to go travelling when the Chiefs gave him a contract and he went off to study at the University of Exeter.

In six months, he was “locked in the gym”, taught how to lift and eat, and his weight rocketed. From 90KG, he filled out to 105KG. His one-rep max on the bench press soared from a feeble 80KG to a respectable 120KG and he could rattle out pull-ups where before he struggled to manage one.
This partnership between university and club has long been fruitful. In such deeply strained times, might more top-flight teams follow suit?

“It’s a great idea,” Skinner says. “Exeter have had some success based on the university and it’s worked both ways because if you’re an aspiring rugby player who still wants to push on with your degree, as I did, and you know Exeter University are closely linked to Chiefs, it’s going to be a factor in choosing that university.

“That’s brilliant for the uni and it’s also brilliant for Chiefs. The club have got a player they can see for three years and allow to develop.

“There’s no denying one of the big factors in why it appeals to clubs – it’s cheaper. You don’t need to pay a student to come to the university unless you want to because they’re that good. They can then pop into the club now and again, you don’t need to pay that player a lot, and they are still in your catchment zone. In my opinion, there are barely any negatives and a lot of positives.”

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J
JW 21 minutes ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Where? I remember saying "unders"? The LNR was formed by the FFR, if I said that in a way that meant the 'pro' side of the game didn't have an equal representation/say as the 'amateur' side (FFR remit) that was not my intent.


But also, as it is the governing body, it also has more responsibility. As long as WR looks at FFR as the running body for rugby in France, that 'power' will remain. If the LNR refuses to govern their clubs use of players to enable a request by FFR (from WR) to ensure it's players are able to compete in International rugby takes place they will simply remove their participation. If the players complain to the France's body, either of their health and safety concerns (through playing too many 'minutes' etc) or that they are not allowed to be part in matches of national interest, my understanding is action can be taken against the LNR like it could be any other body/business. I see where you're coming from now re EPCR and the shake up they gave it, yes, that wasn't meant to be a separate statement to say that FFR can threaten them with EPCR expulsion by itself, simply that it would be a strong repercussion for those teams to be removed (no one would want them after the above).


You keep bringing up these other things I cannot understand why. Again, do you think if the LNR were not acting responsibly they would be able to get away with whatever they want (the attitude of these posters saying "they pay the players")? You may deem what theyre doing currently as being irresponsible but most do not. Countries like New Zealand have not even complained about it because they've never had it different, never got things like windfall TV contracts from France, so they can't complain because theyre not missing out on anything. Sure, if the French kept doing things like withholding million dollar game payments, or causing millions of dollars of devaluation in rights, they these things I'm outlining would be taking place. That's not the case currently however, no one here really cares what the French do. It's upto them to sort themselves out if they're not happy. Now, that said, if they did make it obvious to World Rugby that they were never going to send the French side away (like they possibly did stating their intent to exclude 20 targeted players) in July, well then they would simply be given XV fixtures against tier 2 sides during that window and the FFR would need to do things like the 50/50 revenue split to get big teams visiting in Nov.

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