Western Force lock Izack Rodda says Saturday’s return game felt like his debut again after getting through an hour in the 37-15 win over the Crusaders.
Rodda returned for the first time this season following long-term foot issues, followed by a quad injury on the eve of the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season.
The 202cm 34-cap Wallabies lock started on the bench against the Crusaders and was expecting to play approximately half an hour, but was thrust into the action midway through the first half after a head injury to fellow second-rower Tom Franklin.
“It’s been a tough old year and a bit,” said Rodda, who only managed two games last season, eventually returning from a foot injury in Round 14 but missing the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
“A lot has gone into it. Being on the sidelines is very tough. I’m just so happy I got to go back out there on the weekend.
“I probably played a bit longer than I’d thought, but I was just pumped to be out there. It was like my debut again.”
Rodda also had some big moments on his return including a crucial lineout steal in the final 10 minutes, along with some crunching tackles. He finished with 13 tackles with a 93 per cent completion rate.
“I was very happy. I didn’t think I’d get 60 minutes,” he said. “I was happy for it. It was just great to be out there and playing footy again.
“Like I said, it felt like a debut because it’s been so long. It was so fun to be out there, throwing the ball around and playing rugby.”
Rodda admitted his return was so premature that he didn’t even have his boots on at the time he was called by the coaches to replace Franklin.
“I went out with two pairs because the ones I had on were new,” Rodda said. “They were just giving me blisters.
“I thought I had plenty of time to change them over, I literally just got them off and they were like ‘mate, quick get on’. I was like ‘oh boy, here we go’, better throw these on.”
Rodda’s triumphant return was made extra special with his strong display in a win, along with the context of his cruel pre-season injury where he’d been named in the Round 1 team only to exit Wednesday training with a quad tear.
“It was heartbreaking,” Rodda said. “I got through a lot of work to come back for Round 1 and hurt my quad on the Wednesday which was terrible.
“It took me a while to get over. but that’s just rugby, injuries come, you’ve just got to deal with them as they come about. Got through the work, just stoked to be back out there.”
The Force have had issues in the tight five all campaign but Rodda’s return also coincided with former Wallaby Sam Carter’s best performance yet in the blue, while captain Jeremy Williams is also pushing to return from a calf injury.
“It’s great, we’re starting to get some depth back now,” Rodda said. “Myself back from injury, everyone is back.
“It’s creating competition for positions and in any team, that’s what you need. It’s crucial to having a high performing tight five, especially in the second row.
“We love it, it’s great to have all these guys back, especially Carts playing well.”
The 11th-placed Force flew out of Perth on Tuesday ahead of Saturday’s clash with the 10th-placed Highlanders in Dunedin from 3:05pm WST Saturday. The game looms as a crucial to both sides’ finals hopes as the top-eight race heats up.
“We’re just focused on ourselves and control what we can control,” he said.
“Yes, it is that double points scenario but we just want to go out there and do the same thing we did on the weekend.
“Clinical performance and just stick to the gameplan.”
With the Force Flexi Membership, you can use your 4 tickets however you want, such as 2 tickets in the Round 12 home game and 2 tickets in the Round 13 home game.
