You hate to tempt fate, but for Josh Macleod the long wait for that elusive first Wales cap could finally be about to come to an end.
Few players have suffered more misfortune in recent years than the Scarlets back-rower when it comes to international selection.
In October 2020, he was included in Wayne Pivac’s squad for the autumn campaign, only to damage his hamstring against Glasgow the day before he was due to link up with the group. He fought back from that disappointment to earn selection for the 2021 Six Nations and, ahead of the Scotland game, it was announced to the squad that he would be wearing No. 6 up in Murrayfield. But, within an hour, his dreams were shattered as he ruptured his Achilles tendon at the subsequent training session.
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It was the cruellest of blows as he missed out on Wales’ title-winning adventure and found himself consigned to the sidelines for the following 11 months.
You would have thought the fickle finger of fate would have given him a break after that, but no such luck. On his return to action against the Ospreys on the first day of 2022, he damaged his hamstring, meaning yet another lay-off.
He must have started wondering just how many black cats he had crossed paths with and it would have been understandable had he begun to question whether it was all worth it. But Macleod is made of stern stuff, with his own words on the subject pointing to his mindset and strength of character.
“I suffered quite a few injury blows when I was younger, so I think I’ve built a certain level of resilience to them," he said. "If you take too much time to reflect on it, you are never going to move forward. It’s part of the game and you just have to pick yourself up and dust yourself off.”
Demonstrating this attitude in abundance, he has, to his great credit, bounced back once again, securing a recall to the Welsh squad for the autumn internationals following a strong start to the season. Now the moment may finally be here for the indefatigable 26-year-old, with a Test debut beckoning in Saturday’s showdown with Georgia at the Principality Stadium.
His ability to play right across the back row means there are various ways in which he could make his international bow.
Should either Taulupe Faletau or Justin Tipuric be rested ahead of the autumn finale against the Wallabies, then Macleod could step in at No. 8 or No. 7, while the injury to Dan Lydiate may mean a run-out at No. 6, the position where he was originally due to win his first cap some 20 months ago and one where Pivac has once again said he is an option. Even if he doesn’t start, his versatility makes him ideally suited to provide back row cover off the bench.
So it’s a big week for the Scarlets breakaway, a man who has a back-story with a difference, a tale which takes in the Outer Hebrides and Monte Carlo. While he was raised in Pembrokeshire, his journey of life began elsewhere. As his surname suggests, there are Scottish roots to the family tree.
“My dad used to be a fisherman on the Outer Hebrides,” he previously explained in a WRU column. “But he moved to Monaco to skipper yachts and my mum went with him to work too. All of a sudden I came along. So I was born in Monte Carlo.
“I don’t remember much of my time there, because we moved to west Wales when I was around five years old. Our great-grandparents were there and it seemed the best place for my sister and I to be raised. We’ve been back to Monaco a couple of times, but it’s a different world to the place my parents knew back in the day.”
With the move to Wales, so rugby entered the life of the Fishguard-schooled youngster.
“We lived in a place called Dinas, just outside Newport, Pembrokeshire. Fishguard didn’t have any age-group rugby at the time. When I was eight, I played a game for Cardigan and a couple of guys from Crymych rang up my old man and asked us to go along to the club. I stayed there until I was 16 and had a brilliant time. I was a fluent Welsh speaker, so it was easy for me to fit in with this team in the middle of a farming community.”
Macleod went on to represent Wales at U16s and U20s level and become a hugely valuable member of the Scarlets squad with his adaptability and breakdown expertise.
He won the award as the PRO14 turnover king for the 2019-20 season, with his tally of 23 turnovers putting him seven clear of his nearest challenger. As he readily admits, he is someone who enjoys getting his head stuck in dark places for the team.
That fearless jackaling over the ball, along with his physicality in both attack and defence, has played a key part in him receiving repeat calls from Pivac, who is clearly a fan, having recently said he views him as a Josh Navidi-type of player, which is high praise indeed.
Now, two years on from first getting the nod from the Kiwi coach and after assorted body blows, the persevering Macleod looks ready to finally take that momentous step up to the Test arena.
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