Clermont Auvergne’s ex-All Blacks center George Moala admitted to having had a difficult six weeks sidelined with a head injury ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Bristol Bears in the opening round of the European Champions Cup.
Moala, 30, won the last of his four Test caps for New Zealand in 2016 and has played just three games since suffering the original problem in a Top 14 game at Bayonne in September.
In a potential landmark case concerning brain injuries in professional rugby union, England World Cup winner Steve Thompson was among a group of former internationals who on Tuesday announced that they were planning legal action against rugby authorities over lack of protection from the risks caused by concussion.
Photo: AFP
It is an issue that clearly chimes with Moala.
“It was pretty tough. It’s impacted me mentally a lot. I was going through a lot of memory loss,” Moala said of his head injury.
“I would talk to my partner and she would say: ‘You just said that.’ That’s when it really hit me. I wasn’t just thinking about my career, but I was thinking about kids after rugby,” Moala said. “I’m so happy and grateful that I’m back to normal, but to be honest, I went through some dark times. It’s a big deal.”
Moala’s Clermont side are third in the Top 14 and head to England to face a Bristol outfit without star Fijian back Semi Radradra after he sustained a dead leg at a Test on Saturday last week.
“They’re not just Semi. They have Siale Piutau at center. He’s a great player, too — he’s been playing awesome,” Moala said.
Tonga midfielder Piutau and Moala’s former Blues teammate, Steven Luatua, are among nine players, along with Bristol coach Pat Lam, to claim Pacific islands heritage at Bristol.
“I thought they were another Pacific team,” Moala added.
“I haven’t really followed Steven in the UK, but back home, he was always a natural leader... I knew he would carry that with him, regardless of which team he was going to go to,” Moala said.
In Europe, Clermont are three-time runners-up and last season were knocked out in the last eight by French rivals and eventual losing finalists Racing 92 — a game Moala missed due to his head injury.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
The Edmonton Oilers on Thursday defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 to book their place in the Stanley Cup Finals, setting up a repeat of last year’s NHL showpiece against reigning champions the Florida Panthers. The Oilers, bidding to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL’s championship series since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, head to Florida for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series set for Wednesday. Florida, who are to play in the NHL showpiece for the third straight season, won last year’s title 4-3 to extend Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Connor McDavid led Edmonton back to the championship series on
RSS