'March 2nd, 2014 was one of the most important days of my life'

Ian McKinley played for Italy against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in 2019. March 2nd, 2014 was one of the most important days of his life.

Ian McKinley returned to rugby after 33 months and 11 days. He played for Leonorso XV in the Serie C Regional division. His mother came to Italy to support him. Ian wrote to Philip to thank him for his support. Ian went to the club for a mini rugby tournament in morning. After that he picked up his mum for the game. It was raining heavily, but the pitch was dry. The game went ahead. There were still people at the ground. They were celebrating the famous “terzo tempo” of Italian rugby. In the end Ian thanked Philip for all this support he had received. If it wasn't for him, he wouldn't be having nervous butterflies in his belly.

After the game, the team went to a restaurant for a meal. He sent feedback about the goggles via World Rugby’s player welfare page after every game. The most common things to fix were the fogging up and scratching on the goggle lenses. They didn't fall under the trial umbrella, so he couldn't wear them. Leonorso reached the play-offs to get into Serie B, but they lost the last game to miss out by one point. It was a blessing in disguise as the club was losing a lot of the better players due to work, relocation, or retirement. Massimo Rizzi, his boss, agreed to release him from his last year with LeonOrso and helped him find an agent.

Ian McKinley's book Second Sight: Rugby and Redemption is published by Reach Sport.