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#Post#: 22686--------------------------------------------------
Rob Buchanan
DIR By: BedfordshireBoy
Date: April 27, 2019, 5:57 am
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Nice piece on Rob in the Torygraph today, anyone able to find a
link?
#Post#: 22687--------------------------------------------------
Re: Rob Buchanan
DIR By: Fearless Fred
Date: April 27, 2019, 6:22 am
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How butchery helped Rob Buchanan escape his 'dark place' and get
back on a Premiership rugby field
Mick Cleary, rugby union correspondent
26 APRIL 2019 • 4:30PM
Harlequins hooker Rob Buchanan found salvation in a slab of meat
and a cleaver primed for chopping. A professional rugby player
by trade and a butcher by therapeutic necessity.
The 27-year-old, who makes his first Premiership start in 18
months on Saturday against Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park, reveals
he had ‘a little breakdown’, and was ‘in a pretty dark place’
last year, when repeated trips to a specialist after surgery to
repair nerve ends in his neck culminated in being told his rugby
playing days were over.
Buchanan, an England squad tourist in Argentina and in the prime
of his life, was devastated by the news even though a second
medical opinion offered hope that further surgery would repair
the damage and put him back in the field.
Buchanan, with his mind ‘in a bit of a fog’, was at a low ebb
and was given four weeks leave of absence by Harlequins to help
ease the strain of a constant rehab that was seemingly going
nowhere and to get himself in a better place.
It got to the point where Buchanan, who had joined ‘Quins from
school, sat down with his fiancée, Harriet, and started
compiling a list of possible alternative careers. It was a
bleak-looking blank piece of paper. Buchanan was asked what his
interests were outside of rugby.
‘Food,’ came the blunt reply.
Buchanan knew himself well enough to know that he wouldn’t cut
it in the hot-house environment of a chef’s kitchen, so thoughts
gradually turned to butchery. Unfortunately there was only one
course in the country to teach the skills and that was in Leeds.
Buchanan had actually put together a directory of butcher’s
shops across London and was about to start knocking on doors
when he heard that a new outlet, The Meat Room, had opened down
the road in Twickenham.
“I went down and introduced myself, just like that,” he said.
“One of the guys actually recognised me. I said, ‘Do you want a
hand?’ and that was the start of the relationship. The guys
there, John Toy and Jamie Rowley, have been great, so
encouraging.
“I went in every day after working out in the gym. They gave me
a steak a day for my troubles. It was brilliant. I could go in
there and forget all about my rugby problems and learn something
from scratch. It was a new perspective. I never ever thought I’d
be affected [mentally].
“You hear a lot about mental health issues but without fully
understanding the subject. I’d had injuries before and I thought
I’d be fine. I’m not book-smart so I when someone says that’s
it, well, there it is in front of you, what are you going to do?
“I buried my head in the sand and it made me panic quite a bit.
It was a massive, massive shock. It was stark, it was scary and
it took its toll. There were a few gloomy, introspective months.
I properly broke down in front of Harriet. I was going to quit.
It was a sort of cry for help. I was in a pretty grim place.
“They say that it is good to talk to someone but it is hard to
actually summon up the courage to do that. But [Harlequins’
physiotherapist] Elliott [Clarke] got the ball rolling while
Andy Sanger [‘Quins’ personal development manager] and the Rugby
Players’ Association have also been a great help. It’s a bit
unreal trying to describe feelings but it was such a relief to
get things off my chest.”
And, eventually, to be able to lift his left arm again.
Buchanan’s neck had suffered from the repeat pressure of scrum
engagement to the point where he could barely lift a ball to the
proper height to throw into a line-out. Finally, at half-time in
a Premiership match against Leicester, in October 2017, he could
take no more.
The first specialist had advised that post-surgery rest would
cure it. Many months later, the second consultant stated that he
would drill 10-11cms into the neck through the front, replace a
couple of discs and several months of rehab would do the trick.
It has. Buchanan, who is still only at 80 per cent strength,
played a couple of A League warm-ups before 40 minutes as the
starting hooker last week against Clermont Auvergne at the Stade
Marcel Michelin - not what you might call a gentle loosener.
“It was brilliant even if I did mess up a couple of throws,”
said Buchanan. “It made me appreciate even more what I had been
missing.”
And what Harlequins had been missing, too. Paul Gustard took
over as Head of Rugby midway through Buchanan’s lay-off, but
knew him from an England tour to Argentina. Gustard has been
impressed with the hooker’s attitude during his comeback.
“Rob has had it hard but his desire and dedication have shone
through,” said Gustard. “It’s a real feel-good story and a
timely boost to have him back. Rob threw himself into everything
against Clermont. The way he was hitting people, he didn’t shirk
a thing.”
Harlequins will need that sort of input across the board if they
are to arrest a mini-slump of only one win in six matches and
preserve their push for the play-offs. Buchanan is delighted to
be back in the mix, still putting in a shift on days off at The
Meat Room, and preparing for his wedding in the summer which
will take place on his his fiancee’s step-father's Warwickshire
farm.
“And, yes, I’ll be helping with the barbecue,” said Buchanan.
“It is an Argentinian-style asado. The chef has promised that I
can help butterfly the lambs that my step-father-in-law is
providing. I can cut down a whole lamb. Butchery was something
entirely new for me. It’s filled the void and given me a real
sense of achievement. It was just what I needed.”
#Post#: 22764--------------------------------------------------
Re: Rob Buchanan
DIR By: Monte
Date: April 27, 2019, 10:39 am
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Maybe there is a Jolly Hog tie up here?
#Post#: 22769--------------------------------------------------
Re: Rob Buchanan
DIR By: Samquin
Date: April 27, 2019, 11:00 am
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--- Quote from: Monte link ---
>
> Maybe there is a Jolly Hog tie up here?
>
--- End Quote ---
More likely The Meat Room who have a shop in Royal Leamington
Spa in Warwickshire.
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