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Comeback Kid

Stuart Olding returns stronger in both body and mind after ACL layoff

The Ulster tyro talked us through the little details that helped keep him sharp before attacking this season with Ulster.

LIFE IS GOOD for Stuart Olding right now.

After over nine months without a game, the 21-year-old international is preparing for his third in as many weeks.

Throw in the fact that the Ulster tyro is now being coached by Les Kiss, who gave Olding his first Ireland cap in his last ‘interim’ post, and it seems like he’s in the perfect environment to continue his rapid rise to the top.

Stuart Olding makes a break Ian Cook / INPHO Ian Cook / INPHO / INPHO

“To have him here and work with him every day is fantastic,” Olding told TheScore.ie yesterday.

“He’s come in and brought a fresh new environment and I really admire his precision and his attention to detail in training. That rubs off on all the players and everybody’s getting all their plays right, where they need to be and stuff like that.

“He’s come in and he’s working really well with Doaky – everything’s going really well at the minute and everything is positive.”

It hasn’t always been that way for Olding this past year. His nine month absence came after he ruptured his ACL while performing one of those trademark sidesteps for the Ulster Ravens.

With 19 provincial appearances to his name, he was consigned to an Ulster rehab room with legends of Ravenhill who came and went and eventually called time. Rather than wallow in one another’s misery though, the rehab regulars worked together to keep spirits up, and in the case of Stephen Ferris, perhaps even inspire a little.

“It was testament to Stevie that he even got back on the pitch for those few games. He battled for a long time there. Unfortunately Paddy [Wallace]‘s knee didn’t react too well when he was coming back from rehab, it was sad to see him retire.

Recovery takes time and effort

“They were good guys have around, just to go for a coffee in between sessions and have a chat and they gave me plenty of advice. Not only for rugby, but off the field as well.”

Olding’s prognosis last November left him no uncertainty that his season was over. And that proved helpful as it set out a clear time-frame in which he could make a full recovery and restore the sharp, agile attacker that caused Scarlets so much grief on Saturday.

Rory Best, Iain Henderson, Stuart Olding and Paddy Jackson Part of the plan: Last month Olding was invited to Carton House to pick up his Ireland gear for the 2014/15 season. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

“We just took our time with all the rehab and made sure, before I moved on to the next stage, that everything was okay and I’m delighted we did because I feel very good physically and mentally as well coming into games.”

The key to hitting the ground running in pre-season and now in the Pro12 proper was that Olding continues to keep his leg muscles as active as possible even before his ligaments could bear the weight:

“Even in the hospital bed I was contracting my quad and doing some leg-raises and stuff like that so that things didn’t waste away. Then, just as I progressed, I stepped it up a bit more and and a bit more…

“I had surgery 10 days after the injury happened. Coming out of the surgery I couldn’t do anything for about two weeks. Then I got off the crutches, had to wait for the scars to heal and stuff so they didn’t get infected.

“I wasn’t really doing much for the first three weeks of rehab, but after that I just started off with quarter-bodyweight squats – it was very light – I did some RDLs [Romania deadlifts] just so the muscles didn’t switch off and waste away so they were still being used.

Stuart Olding Presseye / Jonathan Porter/INPHO Presseye / Jonathan Porter/INPHO / Jonathan Porter/INPHO

“It’s all about strengthening the muscles around the knee so they can protect the ligament so as the weight of running and side-stepping isn’t going through that, and it’s the muscles taking the brunt.”

Where you may expect a player to return tentatively after such an injury, Olding has come back brimming with intent, attacking defensive gaps with vim and vigour. We give him that double edged compliment of being a ‘utility back’ but he sidesteps the issue of whether he’d prefer play in the centre or fullback as successfully he would do a lumbering prop.

“Coming back from not playing rugby in a year I’d be delighted just to play anywhere. At this stage in my career the versatility is pretty good because it gives you different views on other positions say if you’re a fullback, you understand what an out-half or centre needs from you.

“Hopefully this season or next season I can settle on one position and really focus on that.”

“I’m just delighted to be back and fit again. It was a long time out, but it flew in because I was so excited to get back playing. And with all the training I was doing I wanted to come back a better player than I was before. It went well so I was very positive and confident going into games.

“I’m delighted to be back, just happy to be playing rugby again.”

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