British Lion Mark Taylor will fulfil his last ambition in the game when he steps out to face Tonga for Wales this Sunday.
The vastly experienced centre revealed how returning to Australia was the ‘carrot’ behind his recovery from the injury that cut short his tour with the 2001 Lions.
And he will be hoping for a repeat performance of his last visit to Canberra Stadium. Taylor underwent extensive surgery to repair the damaged ligaments in his knee that robbed him of a Test spot for the Lions two years ago. He missed the next seven months through rehab though was continually plagued by the problem even after his recovery.
But even in the darkest moments, the 40-times capped former Wales captain admitted he never gave up hope of making it back for the biggest tournament of all.
‘Playing in this World Cup was the only thing that kept me going through it all,’ said Taylor.
‘When I returned from the Lions tour I was out for the next seven months and pretty depressed. But what kept getting me to the physio and out onto the roads to do the mileage on the bike was that I wanted to get to this tournament again.
‘I was fortunate enough to play in the last World Cup and it was a fantastic experience, so coming back to Australia was the one goal that was left for me to achieve at the end of my career.’
His comments are sure to raise speculation that he will step down from international rugby after the tournament having also turned 30 earlier this year though he has admitted previously that he is desperate to reach the 50-cap milestone.
Among those who will hope to dissuade Taylor from taking that decision will be Wales coach Steve Hansen who has kept faith in the Swansea centre by taking him on the tour to South Africa last summer after 18 months off the Test scene.
Taylor said: ‘Ive always had a lot of encouragement from the Walesmanagement, they brought me along to any training camp to keep me involved.
That really helped to keep my confidence and moral up and was the incentive that kept me going.’
Taylor is expected to line up against Tonga for the first time in anine-year Test career that was lit up by his last visit to Canberra when Austin Healeys last gasp try capped a remarkable comeback by the Lions who beat ACT Brumbies 30-28.
‘It was a really difficult game, in fact it had been a difficult tour for the so-called second string and we found ourselves about 20-points down,’ he recalled.
‘But we rallied together and to comeback the way we did said a lot abut them spirit in the camp and was probably my highlight of the tour. I think there is a similar spirit in this Welsh squad.’
