Even though the preseason friendly lasted only 30 minutes, Danny Richardson felt as though a moment he might never get was passing.
The half-back for the Castleford Tigers was indeed on the field last month against the London Broncos, for those who were not paying close attention.
Richardson, after all, has been a mainstay in Super League for several years, having made his debut at St Helens as a gifted teenage player with the rugby world at his feet and more recently at Castleford.
He has, however, been limited to the role of a disgruntled spectator for the past eighteen months due to a dreadful injury nightmare that must have seemed never-ending on multiple occasions.
His season was prematurely terminated by a torn ACL and MCL against Salford Red Devils in August 2022, just as Castleford was fighting for the play-offs under Lee Radford.
The initial diagnosis was about a year and a half on the disabled list, which raised the possibility that he might play a role in the Tigers’ late-season struggle for Super League survival. But more disappointments meant he would miss the whole 2023 season.
We view players as little more than objects to be amused by us, and that is how we think about them most of the time.
However, there is a human cost to being unable to perform even the most fundamental tasks for a large portion of a playing career, let alone compete at the best level in rugby league.
‘It’s just made me put things into perspective… I occasionally found it difficult to bathe my daughter because I was unable to even bend over.
It’s safe to argue that Richardson has changed both as a player and a person over the past 18 months. “It’s simply helped me view things more clearly,” he says to Love Rugby League. Sometimes you can get overly happy or overly depressed after a triumph.
He acknowledges, “You lose the general function of your life for a period of time.”
For instance, I occasionally found it difficult to bathe my daughter since I was unable to even bend over. For a while, you sort of forget about rugby and realize what really matters, like your family. You become somewhat more mature.
If anything, it’s only increased my appetite and eagerness to resume playing and watching every week. It is quite irritating to stand back and find that you have little control over the game, especially considering how we were playing the previous year.
“I just wanted to lend a hand, but I was unable to.” As a person, I have grown.
“It takes so long that sometimes you don’t think the day will come to get back to playing after 18 months.”
For Richardson, that nightmare finally ends this Saturday night. At a nearly full Wheldon Road, he is expected to play for Castleford in their season-opening match against the reigning champion Wigan Warriors.
There will be a method to get back into rugby league competition.
“It is sometimes difficult to believe that the day will come when you can resume playing after an 18-month hiatus,” he says.
“I couldn’t have been happier to resume playing in the preseason. Playing rugby and winning is all I want to do; it’s my livelihood. It has been a whole year and a half since I was able to accomplish that.
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