8:40am Thursday 30th October 2008
By Stuart Amos
Harlequins prop Mark Lambert may have finished on the losing side against London Irish on Saturday, but he is simply happy to be winning a long battle with injury.
The 23-year-old tight head - handed a new two-year contract in the summer - has barely pulled on the famous shirt in the last four years having suffered a succession of career threatening set-backs.
It has seen the former England U21 international take on an English and American literature degree, which he should complete next summer, in the event his rugby future is snuffed out before it has really started.
Quins suffered at the hands of a second Irish comeback in as many months as they let a 17-5 advantage slip in the second half to crash out of the EDF Cup.
But Lambert insists he can only see the bruising encounter as a positive on a personal level and can’t wait for another chance to repay director of rugby Dean Richards’ faith in him.
“It was disappointing there were a lot of players out there who don’t usually start and while we played well in the first half, we let ourselves down in the second,” said Lambert after making his second start of the season.
“To be honest, it is just quite nice to have some bumps and bruises. The body is remembering what it is like to be playing regularly again and that is a good feeling.
“I haven’t really played regularly for four years, but I’d like to think when I have played I’ve been doing something right.
“I went into pre-season not really knowing what the future held, so to be given a new contract was a big boost to my confidence and shows Dean has a certain amount of faith in me.
“Hopefully, I can take the chance.”
Lambert made his Premiership debut aged just 19 against Gloucester, but a broken leg soon afterwards left him sidelined before a freak head injury almost wrecked his career and was partly behind a return to education.
“The doctors thought at one stage I would never play again after that. I had a complete break for six months and was out around 11 months in total,” he added.
“I’m more aware than most that you can lose it all very quickly. I think it is important to have a back-up plan that means you are not struggling later in life.”
Lambert is one of a growing line of Quins academy stars to have made their way into the first team in recent years, with the likes of Chris Robshaw, Jordan Turner-Hall and Mike Brown becoming established in the starting line-up.
Fellow graduates Charlie Aymesbury and George Robson were on the scoresheet at the weekend - along with Neil McMillan - and Lambert believes it won’t stop there.
“I honestly believe when we play to our best we are as good as anyone in England, if not Europe,” he said.
“The challenge is to perform to that level on a consistent basis. Everyone is desperate to play in a winning team and the guys coming through have a strong connection to the club to see it through.”
Ends Mark Lambert’s four years of physio woe.
November 2004 - broke leg soon after making his first team debut aged just 19-years-old - spent five months on the sidelines.
Mar 2005 - dissected artery in the head suffered during scrummaging practise - out for 11 months.
June 2006 - dislocated knee-cap in last game of U21 World Cup - six months in rehab.
September 2007 - dislocated knee-cap again - misses entire campaign after undergoing surgery.
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