Venice – where the streets have no signs
Jared Payne is set for a Champions Cup start against Toulon, on Saturday, but has a better chance of walking straight back into the Irish team than being trusted with directions by his Ulster colleagues.
Ulster are all but out of the mix for a knock-out place, in Europe, and Payne admits three defeats have left them looking at ‘wildcard predications’. The province face Toulon this weekend and, going into that mountain-climb, were boosted by a bonus point league win over Treviso. Payne made his return, after a lengthy foot injury, off the bench and navigated the closing stages well.
His navigational skills came into question, however, at Ulster’s weekly briefing. Hooker Rob Herring says, ‘It was my first time in Venice. We arrived pretty early in Treviso, on Saturday, and there were about 15 of us who got a taxi and just went down.
‘It was good to see the sights. Jared got us lost a few times. He claimed he can read a map but… ‘
Payne’s last start was on his Ireland debut in the Guinness Series win over South Africa. He says, ‘It was a bit disappointing to not be on the field as the final whistle blew but it was still a great day and I couldn’t have asked for any more.’
The initial prognosis, following his foot sprain, was a two-week absence. That stretched to two months as Darren Cave, then Robbie Henshaw staked claims for the Irish 13 jersey. ‘I’m still trying to figure (the injury) out,’ he says. ‘I just pushed off it a bit funny and I think I sprained something and it seems to have taken forever.’
As for an instant return to the Irish squad, he comments, ‘Ah look, that’s a long way away. I’ve played next to no rugby and I can’t expect to be anywhere near that team. I’ve just got to try and get my foot right and get a few more minutes on the field.’
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