IF YOU thought rugby players weren't tough enough already, you need only look to Waratahs hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau, who is playing with a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee - and has done for four seasons.
While many a person has forfeited their tonsils in the name of good health, 26-year-old Polota-Nau bid farewell to the PCL ligament - which joins the posterior of the femur to the tibia - in 2007 and says he has no intention of having it repaired, fearing an operation could do more harm than good to his Super Rugby and international careers.
Polota-Nau was a week-to-week proposition for the Waratahs last year as he struggled to overcome what was thought to be a minor knee injury, just now revealing the full extent of the injury and why his 2011 season was hamstrung.
''Last year I actually tore some of my meniscus [tissue that prevents the tibia and femur bones from rubbing on each other] in my knee and I had to get that operated on, so that combined with the PCL situation wasn't ideal in terms of stability in my knee,'' the Wallabies hooker said.
''With the meniscus repairing, it was more so the fact that I didn't have a PCL in that knee that was hampering me last year. There wasn't much strength.
''So it took longer than usual to get it back into full shape. The knee has come along well. I've just been getting back into the scheme of things at training and going through the normal routine precautions to stop it happening again. But it's 100 per cent right now.''
The PCL is one of four main ligaments in the knee, and the hardest to operate on. And given the remaining three ligaments remain intact to stop the knee from moving out of place, it's possible to continue playing without pain.
''It's not an uncommon injury, and other structures in the knee can provide stability to the joint to enable function adequately,'' Waratahs physio Kieran Cleary said. ''But more diligence at rehab is required to stay on top of things and maintain good muscular control of the joint.''
Former Wallabies flyer Peter Hynes dealt with the same injury before wearing away so much cartilage he was forced to have surgery, and hasn't been the same player since.
Polota-Nau said he had considered surgery on several occasions but was adamant his weakness was now one of his greatest attributes.
''The PCL can tear but you can play without it if you want to, and without it, it just made my knee less stable when the meniscus was torn,'' he said.
''You can get an operation on it but I've decided not to do that. You can function without it, it just means you need to do more rehab around the other muscles.
''For me, it's functioning just like a normal knee, and while it is susceptible to a lot more movement in the knee, it just means I have to be more meticulous on the rehab.
''There's no pain there. It only really becomes an issue when I hurt another part of my knee like the meniscus. But now, I'm back to doing squats and I'm at my playing weight of 113 to 114 kilograms.''
With the meniscus now fully healed and with preventative taping on his left knee to keep it in place, Polota-Nau is adamant he is at his strongest ever this year. And after a Hawaiian adventure aboard a Harley-Davidson, with a frangipani in his hair and floral-print shirt to match, the cheeky Tongan said he was stronger mentally, too.
''Without having to worry about my PCL or meniscus now, I can think about smashing them, the opposition, rather than thinking about my knee,'' said Polota-Nau, who admitted he has battled demons on and off since first tearing the ligament in 2007 and being ruled out of the World Cup.
''It's cleared up my mind. And having a few weeks off, I'm in a great mental state. It's taken me a fair while to get used to the knee but now I know it won't slow me down. I'm ready to rock'n'roll. In fact, I'm ready to sushi roll,'' he finished with a chuckle.
Let's just hope that knee doesn't roll.
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