He was supposed to be a doubt for the start of the Six Nations and he had a frightening looking plate inserted into his arm about six weeks back, but Rory Best could be back in action this weekend.
The Ulster and Ireland hooker has been sidelined since breaking his arm in the (still) heartbreaking defeat to New Zealand in November, shortly after scoring a try in Ireland’s first half tour de force at the Aviva Stadium.
It had been suggested that Best would miss all of Ulster’s remaining pool games in the Heineken Cup and might struggle to be fit in time for the Six Nations, but according to today’s Irish Times, he is in the frame for selection for Ulster’s clash with Ravenhill on Friday night.
Given Ulster’s commanding position in Pool 5 – they are currently ahead of Leicester by three points – Mark Anscombe might not want to risk bringing the hooker back too early, particularly as the meeting with the Tigers the weekend after next looks set to be the most important in terms of deciding the pool winners.
That said, it is hardly a surprise that Best is available for selection earlier than expected; he did throw himself into a ruck after he had broken his arm against New Zealand after all.
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