FIT-AGAIN CRABB LOOKING FORWARD TO MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME

Gloucester-Hartpury’s Gwen Crabb could feel the nerves starting to build up when she was called off the bench late in a tense Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby match with Leicester Tigers, writes Ben McCrum.

Crabb, 24, was returning from an extended period off the pitch after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury representing Wales in the Six Nations last year.

“There was a lot of anticipation around it,” she said.

“I came back from an ankle injury early last year and then to suffer an ACL injury during that first game back was pretty tough.

“Psychologically, more than anything, it was hard to put those fears aside to play again.”

But once she was back on the pitch, the worries left Crabb’s mind and she helped the defending champions come back from 19 points down to win 33-26 and continue their unbeaten record.

Wow 🤯

A mammoth @gloshartpury win as they come back from 19 points down 😮‍💨

The champions make it 8️⃣ wins from 8️⃣!#PWR | @allianzuknews pic.twitter.com/cbfHW96m73

— Premiership Women's Rugby (@ThePWR) February 3, 2024

“It was pretty mad,” Crabb said.

“It probably made my nerves a lot worse on the bench, especially coming on and knowing that we had a job to do to pull the game back. It was a huge relief at the end.”

The victory leaves the champions just one point behind current leaders Saracens, but Gloucester-Hartpury have a game in hand.

Crabb will now hope to play a full part in the run-in after a long road back to fitness. In all, she had been sidelined for 10 months, having already missed four months due to a fractured fibula.

“It was a long process, but it was pretty good to be honest,” added Crabb, who injured her other ACL aged 17.

“It was almost like my ankle injury was a precursor or a warm-up for the ACL, which was my first significant injury in six years.

“I decided that the best way to go about it was enjoying the process and not concentrating on the end goal of playing again, and more sort of ticking off the little markers across the rehab journey. That way made it a lot more enjoyable.”

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Part of this experience was taking up a role as a rehabilitation coach for Proview Sports, after they approached Crabb – who studied strength and conditioning at Cardiff Metropolitan University – due to her social media content detailing her return from injury.

She said: “For me, as a coach, it's quite nice to say that I've gone through the same experience as a lot of my clients.

“Often, they'll say that they have certain instability or aches or pains and I can resonate with that a lot.

“It will be an interesting transition now being back fit and being able to play and managing that side of my life as well.

“Hopefully, I can show my clients that you can get back to being where you want to play.”

Alongside her new role as a coach, the 24-year-old started a podcast with Welsh teammate Ffion Lewis named Say It How It Is, which she describes as ‘vulnerable and honest conversations with different guests who have had their own struggles’.

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Lewis had recently been diagnosed with endometriosis and found that speaking about her condition on the podcast garnered a huge positive response from listeners.

Crabb added: “It’s been a similar thing with me speaking about my experiences with injury, how it affected my mental health and how I was dealing with it.

“At the end of the day, if you help one person then it's a win.”

A return to rugby couldn’t have come at a better time for the Welsh lock as, in just over a month, the Women’s Six Nations gets underway.

“I’m definitely excited,” she said. “Having missed out on the Six Nations last year and then the first WXV in New Zealand, I'm excited to hopefully get a Welsh jersey on again.

“This injury has given me a newfound appreciation for playing rugby.

“It was potentially something I took for granted before, so I'm looking forward to taking in every opportunity that I have in the coming weeks.

“I think it's inevitable that there'll be a little bit of nervousness in the build-up but that's kind of natural.

“I'm quite pleased with the fact that I get to have a couple of weeks with Gloucester-Hartpury to build up my game time. That way when I come into the Six Nations, I won’t see myself as injured or recently back from injury anymore.

“I’m just a normal player competing for my spot in the Welsh team.”