Thames Barrier

Today was a momentous day. I refereed my first game of rugby since severely injuring my knee almost exactly a year ago on 28th September 2013. I sustained tears to both cruciate ligiments, both medial ligiments and other sundry bits of the right knee. At the time I wondered if it was the end of refereeing but the ambition of seeing if I could recover and take the field again was a great motivator. You can see what things were like the day after the injury here.

By dint of hard work, lots of personal physiotherapy and the guidance of the consultants and staff at Maidstone Hospital I was able to recover without surgery which I think is quite remarkable in the circumstances.

I was a little apprehensive on many counts going into the game, not least because I was match rusty and I was concerned I would not be sufficiently tuned into the game having not refereed for so long. Of course, I was also concerned about whether I'd get the knee knocked or subject to undue stress what with all the twisting and turning, stopping and starting that goes on. I was less concerned about my overall fitness as I'd been working on that for months.

But I need not have worried as all was well. It took a while to get back in harness, so to speak, but it felt like I'd never been away. All bits of the body seemed to function OK and occasionally worked together in a co-ordinated fashion.

I would have liked an easier game for the first one back. On paper the Under 19 match between Blackheath Academy and Godalming College looked to be a strong fixture with the Blackheath team being part of the Blackheath Club structure. In the end it was nothing of the sort, Blackheath running out easy winners and as is often the case with youth rugby the standard of coaching and the skill set of the players meant it was a relatively easy game to manage. Just wait until we get back to adult rugby!

The Thames Barrier appears as the game was up in Greenwich and I had a couple of hours to spare after the game before meeting up with and old colleague from the Borough for a beer or two at a pub along Shooters Hill. A very pleasant end to a very satisfying day. We'll see what the knee feels like tomorrow.