It was a painful day for everyone associated with Irish rugby - but it can be argued that it was the most painful for Tommy Bowe. The Ulster winger went down after ten minutes of that quarter-final with what looked like a serious knee injury. Ireland were staring down the face of a huge lead at the time - with Argentina already ahead by two scores. Luke Fitzgerald came on for Bowe and gave Ireland hope, but it ultimately wasn't enough.
How does Bowe feel about that game looking back now, having to watch 69 minutes of the game in the medical room thinking he had suffered another serious knee injury?
It was brutal. Like, the pain in your knee has you thinking: 'How long, what have I done to myself here?', you fear the worst.
Then, on the other hand, you're watching the game having been involved in that first 10 minutes where Argentina just blew us off the park. Seeing us get back to within a whisker of getting in front and then fall away again. . . listen it was a pretty difficult day all round. I felt dejected because I was part of that first 10 minutes, but then I came off when I couldn't redeem myself or make amends.
You can almost feel the pain in Bowe's words here. It gives you another reason to want to give the Monaghan man a hug.
It's hard on an injured player when the team seems to do better without them, and like most sportspeople - Bowe is frustrated that he wasn't able to redeem himself after his performances. Fortunately for the Ulster winger, his knee injury isn't a second dreaded ACL injury. A PCL tear isn't as serious, but the timeframe for his return isn't that well known. Does he remember how he felt when he went down?
When it happened I felt a pop in my knee and I felt it hyper-extend and I really feared for the worst with it. So, to hear that my ACL, the bad cruciate, is intact, that my lateral ligament and everything else I did the last time is all screwed together and is still intact. . . it could have been way worse.
Normally, a PCL tear doesn't even need to be operated on, but because it's come off the bone they felt it would be best to attach it back on. It's quite a rare surgery and that's the reason for a clouded return-to-play date. At the minute it's very much play by ear.
With the feeling around Irish rugby at the moment, the sooner that Tommy Bowe comes back for Ireland and Ulster the better - we could do with his talents out there.
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Picture credit: Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE
