Stephen Ferris knows backrow no place for faint-hearted

The cruelty of it all reverberates when realising Stephen Ferris only turned 30 this month. Probably the most destructive flanker to play for Ireland, or at least locked with Seán O'Brien, he's able to take solace from 35 caps gathered between 2006 and Peter O'Mahony's Test breakthrough in 2012. Clearly the wheel keeps on turning. O'Mahony surely knows this as much as Rhys Ruddock and Tommy O'Donnell.

“You can’t but look at the amount of injuries in the backrow,” said Ferris at the SSE Sounds of Victory launch in London. “Peter O’Mahony has had his shoulder reconstruction done. Seánie O’Brien is always out injured, a bit like myself, always in and out. It’s definitely the most physical position on the pitch. You are always in contact. Always trying to steal the ball so you get your fair share of injuries.

“Yeah, I was Pete’s main competition when he was coming into the Ireland squad. When he played against Italy for his first cap I knew there was something about him. He just needed to get fit. That was one thing when he came into the Irish set-up; he just wasn’t fit enough.

“He is certainly fit enough now.”

O'Mahony was the natural successor, regardless of injury, to Ireland's blindside flank but Iain Henderson has already covered the enormity that was Ferris's loss to Ulster.

Good place

“Pete’s taken that number six jersey over and done really, really well. He should hold it for another two or three years when Iain might come in and take it off him. “But the backrow are in a good place right now.

“I know Joe [Schmidt] likes to play Iain at secondrow and Ulster a lot more in the backrow.

“He’s an absolute freak. Six foot six, really fast, strong, a good athlete and a game-changer.

“I know he has struggled with his injuries in recent years but I’d like to see him kick on and play at six for Ulster and hopefully slip in there for Ireland at some stage.”

There are irreplaceable cogs in the Ireland team but Ferris doesn't believe Cian Healy is one of them. "I don't think getting to a quarter or semi-final will be dictated by not having Cian Healy. There is brilliant cover there in [Jack] McGrath. However, if McGrath gets injured, they are in a bit of trouble."

Healy has until September 19th to show he has recovered from May’s neck surgery.

Broken finger

It remains the overriding story for professional rugby players. Ferris still squeezed in two World Cups, an interrupted Lions tour (knee) and the 2009 Grand Slam (he was forced off against Wales with a badly broken finger).

His truly was a career blighted by injury, with ankle ligaments that refused to knit, ending 18 months of tortuous rehabilitation. “From the day I hung up the boots I could look back and say ‘Jeez, I had a blast.’ Nine professional years with Ulster. Played for the Lions in ’09, got to two World Cups, represented Ulster over one hundred times. I look back with fond memories.”

The injuries weren’t connected. Two bad turns on the ankle ruined him.

It was the third operation, to remove scar tissue, when he knew the clock was counting down, but the knee was manageable.

“I struggled with it but you look at Paul O’Connell and Seán O’Brien playing with no cartilage in their knees. Operation after operation on shoulders and everything else. Unfortunately, I just got an ankle injury I couldn’t come back from. I just had to deal with it...everyone has to retire at some stage.”

At least we’ll always have the memory of him mauling Will Genia in 2011. “It was one of the best moments of my career. An iconic moment.

“I loved it. If I could rewind back the clock and do it again I would.”