Graham back and ready to roar

• 18 Sep 2024
• Features

Edinburgh Rugby star Darcy Graham made his long-awaited return to rugby on Friday night, his comeback marked by a trademark diving score against Gloucester. The Scotland internationalist, known for his electric pace and try-scoring ability, has been out of action for nearly eight months due to injury.

Speaking to media earlier this week, Graham could hardly hide his excitement at being back in the mix, a moment he’d been dreaming of for the better part of a year.

“It was really good to get back out there,” said Graham. “It had been eight months, so it was really exciting. Going into it I knew I only had 40 minutes so I just wanted to get into the game nice and early and I managed to do that.”

Graham’s score saw him named Scottish Building Society Player of the Match on the night. His now familiar try-scoring song ‘The Can-Can’ rang around Hive Stadium, with Edinburgh supporters hopeful it won’t be the only time they hear it this campaign.

“It was an easy enough finish,” shrugged Graham. “Big Mosese got on that big jump line and brought in two defenders and Wes managed to take a nice pass off him and flick it out the back door as well. It was a standard finish for me.”

Darcy Graham scores Edinburgh’s first try of the match against Gloucester.

His coach, Sean Everitt, has been effusive in his praise for Graham, calling him “world class” and one of the best wingers in the world. Graham, however, remains grounded.

“Obviously coming from your head coach it’s a real nice compliment and to have that backing from him is massive, but I don’t let it go to the head too much.”

Graham has been ready to make his mark all summer, with his decision to miss Scotland’s summer tour to The Americas a large part of why he’s now in a position to make a splash from day one.

“Looking back at it, it was frustrating not to be going,” said Graham. “But then in the grand scheme of things it was the right thing for me. I sat down with the coaches and spoke about it, and I would have been going on tour just straight out of rehab.  I hadn’t even had a full week of training at that point, so it would have been putting my body under extra stress which wasn’t needed.”

Despite his extended absence, Graham has no doubts about his ability to hit the ground running. With a full pre-season under his belt, and a hit out against Gloucester, Graham is now ready to embrace the challenge of wearing Edinburgh’s number 14 shirt once again.

“I prepped in training for the whole pre-season so I knew coming back into the Gloucester game I was going to be fine. It’s now just about getting that confidence back in and going into the contact.

“That’s probably the big thing – carrying. When you’re out of the game for a while you’re watching it and it’s so fast, it’s so physical, the boys are massive and you forget a bit. So going back into it is a bit daunting.

“For me you just have to get stuck into it, and those 40 minutes were really good for me.”

Graham warms-up ahead of Leinster.

Looking ahead to this weekend’s clash under thee Friday night lights, Graham is eager to go one further and play the full 80 minutes as Edinburgh open their URC campaign against the Irish giants.

“One hundred per cent I want to play 80,” he continued. “For me, when I’m playing I always want to play 80 minutes. I want to be on the park but it’s a 23 man squad, there’s 23 of us on the team to do the game at the end of the day.

“It’s a massive opportunity for us this weekend. I think we’ve had a really good pre-season, from where we were this time last year we’re in a much better position. So it’s about getting things right on the pitch on the day.

“Leinster have world class players all over the park and it’s going to be no easy game. But it’s just about focusing on us, bringing what we can bring. We know what they’re going to bring, they’re going to be physical, they’re going to play and they’re going to chuck the ball about and they’re just going to do the basics really well.

“So it’s just about us matching and then being physical and hopefully getting one over them.”

With his injuries behind him, and the URC kick-off only days away, Graham has a new focus and energy which have given him fresh perspective on the sport he loves.

“You never know when your last game is going to be,” explained Graham. “It sounds cliched but you never know, one injury could finish your career. So it’s just about enjoying the moments and taking a week at a time.”

One week at a time starts with Leinster this Friday night, a match Graham will be desperate to light up.