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The remarkable progress 2017 Lions prop Jack McGrath is enjoying just two days after hip surgery
By Josh Raisey
Four years after he played in all three Lions Test matches against New Zealand, Ireland prop Jack McGrath is definitely not in contention for tour selection this time around as the loosehead has been busy on social media keeping his Instagram followers informed about his recovery from hip surgery over the weekend.
The 59-cap Ulster loosehead flew to England last week to undergo a hip resurfacing and he has since provided updates on social media.
He initially shared a video of himself walking with crutches accompanied by rugby league’s George Burgess, who has undergone the same procedure.
“Wheels fully in motion for the road to recovery,” the 31-year-old McGrath wrote on Instagram. “Huge relief already from hip resurfacing operation. Up and moving around less than 24 hours after surgery.”
McGrath provided another update on Tuesday, this time explaining the improvement he has already witnessed in his range of motion. “Two days post-surgery getting to 90 degrees flexion. For over a year I was only able to each about 30 degrees, some difference for putting on the socks!”
Last capped by Ireland in August 2019, McGrath has been out of action since November 2020 with his hip injury and his spell on the sidelines is now set to be extended in the wake of his recent surgery. McGrath was thriving at Leinster when Warren Gatland selected him for the 2017 Lions and he went on to feature off the Test team bench, replacing Mako Vunipola in all three games in that drawn series.
Tired of competing with Cian Healy for the starting jersey at Leinster, he opted to join Dan McFarland's Ulster in 2019 and made 18 appearances before last playing nearly six months ago in a Guinness PRO14 game at Cardiff.
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Latest Comments
I agree.
I’d like to know what constitutes a 208 week ban though?
Must the eyeball be dislodged? Hanging by a vein?
Go to commentsAlso a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.
I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.
I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn when to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.
Defense has been a real positive from Bristol, they've shown a lot of improvement there... And I will say that I think this kamikaze strategy they employ is a very good one for a struggling side and could be employed by Newcastle. It's seems to have turned around Gloucester's fortunes. The big advantage is even if you don't have the biggest and best players, what you have is cohesion. This is why Scotland keep battering England. England have better individuals but they look muddled as a team, trying to play a mixed strategy under coaches who lack charisma, the team has no identity. Scotland come out and give it full throttle from 1-15 even if they struggle against the top sides, sides like England and Wales who lack that identity drown under the relentless will and synergy of the Scots. If Newcastle did the same they could really surprise some people, I know the weather is bad up there but it hasn't bothered the Scots. Bristol can learn from Scotland too, Pat is on to something when he says the following but Scotland don't play test matches like headless chickens. They still play with the same level of clarity and ambition Bristol do but they are much better at picking their moments. They needed to go back to this mad game to get their cohesion back after a couple of seasons struggling but I hope they get a bit wiser from matches like Leinster and La Rochelle.
“If there’s clarity on what you’re trying to do as a team you can win anything.”
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