Two years after undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor, Julian Huxley is set to make his return to top-level rugby tomorrow after being included among the ACT Brumbies reserves for a Super 14 Round 7 match against the Chiefs.
Brumbies coach Andy Friend announced his squad yesterday to take on the Chiefs, selecting 30-year-old Huxley on the bench and reshuffling his backline to pair Matt Giteau and Stirling Mortlock in the centers.
“It was something I always thought I could do, but didn’t know if it would happen,” said Huxley, who has played two games for the Brumbies reserves team since receiving the necessary clearances to return to rugby three weeks ago. “The day has come and it seems the last two years have gone like a flash.”
The former Australia fullback had surgery to remove a benign brain tumor in March 2008, but said he never gave up hope of returning to professional rugby.
“There were certainly a lot of people who said, ‘maybe it’s time to move on,’ but it was never based around any sort of fact with regards to the safety of it,” Huxley was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press. “I just wanted to explore that fully and I kept waking up wanting to do it.
“Life’s too short to worry too much about the future and you have to do what you want to do today within reason,” he said.
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