It’s a conundrum and a damn frustrating one for all involved.
Jared Payne was starting to hit form on the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand when the headaches he had been experiencing ramped up in frequency.
In Wellington at the time, Payne headed back to his native Tauranga for a series of medical tests, including an MRI, and sought comfort in a family setting. We missed out on the final week of the tour, and all the celebrations that followed. He simply wanted an answer to what was going on.
There was progress made and the plan, after a few weeks’ rest back home, was to see how he fared once he got back to Ulster. He got back in mid September but every stretch of clear days would be followed by more headaches – oftentimes manageable, sometimes troublesome.
Payne would get through a couple of field and gym sessions and feel completely fine only to wake up one day in bother and almost back to square one. Ulster Rugby has taken to leaving him out of the regular, weekly updates. He gets the odd mention but most people understand that we’ll hear of progress if there is any.
The reporters that regularly cover the Ulster beat are sometimes uncomfortable asking but, if a couple of weeks have passed or they hear talk of some positive training ground sightings, they will put the question out only to be met with, ‘Not quite yet’.
Ulster fans that packed into Kingspan Stadium last Friday night, ahead of the Champions Cup game with Harlequins, gave Payne a great reception when they saw him warming up with the matchday 23. He was not involved, of course, but that sight, and that of Payne imparting advice [with a H2O bib on] to teammates during the game got some hopes up.
The latest from Ulster camp has dashed those hopes somewhat. Not quite yet.
Ulster skill coach Niall Malone, while stating he was not an expert on matters relating to head injuries, says all at the province are convinced the 32-year-old will play again. There is no time-frame however. There is little point in circling a date in the calendar.
“A few years ago,” Malone told the BBC, “he probably would have played by now.”
That is not necessarily a good thing so it is good to know Ulster are heeding medical advice and taking their time over this one.
“Six weeks ago [the medics] told us the next week or two,” Malone added, “and now they’re saying the next week or two.”
The waiting game is an encouraging development in rugby but it must absolutely suck for Payne. He is taking part in full training sessions and, most of the time, he is feeling in top shape. For a man that played on against France with a torn hamstring [February 2016] lacerated his kidney during a game against Australia nine months later [both in Irish colours], Payne’s body has taken so sizeable blows over the years.
At present, he is in better physical condition than he has been for five years but there is nothing he can do about it. He can’t get that green light.
The bitter blow for Payne is that his contract with Ulster and the IRFU runs out next June. The hold-up has already cost him an IRFU central contract and one that would have taken him to the 2019 World Cup and beyond; most likely the summer of 2020.
That is the current state of play – Payne will not get an IRFU central contract. It is incredibly harsh on him but the union must make calls in its best interests. They do not have many spare thousands to play with and there are a new slate of young players vying for such deals [ie: Garry Ringrose missed out but Tadhg Furlong got one].
Payne and his partner have welcomed their first child just over a year ago, a wee Belfast boy called Jake. One of the loveliest images on the Lions Tour was of Payne celebrating with Christina and Jake after helping the tourists to a fine win over the Chiefs.
Family time! Jared Payne with his fiance Christina Beattie & son Jake after the British & Irish Lions beat the Chiefs yesterday. pic.twitter.com/wTxcqUTVbD
— sportsfile (@sportsfile) June 21, 2017
This is where rugby moves on and bears few thoughts about those struggling to catch up; those left behind.
Already we have replaced him in the green of Ireland – Robbie Henshaw and Chris Farrell sharing the 13 jersey last month – and Payne’s name won’t be mentioned much as we get carried away and excited about the upcoming Six Nations.
Ulster are as desperate to welcome Payne back to the fold as the man himself. they want to do right by a man that has done right by them.
One hopes Payne’s rugby journey does not end without some more great memories on the rugby pitch, but we had better get set for that stark possibility.
And then we’ll move on. Rugby will move on. It always does.
