It was a pretty impressive 14 minutes the Ulster man put in on Sunday, and he continued to show his bravery all week.
Okay, we reckon we might just, just, be able to talk about Sunday's defeat to New Zealand now. It was cruel, heartbreaking and downright unfair but we hope that the 24-22 loss will spur the team on to a victorious Six Nations campaign.
One of the chief worries we will have about that looming battle is the fact that we may be without Ulster hooker Rory Best. Best had a barnstorming opening at Aviva Stadium last Sunday. His lineout throws were spot on, his play in the loose was intense and, as you can see below, he dived in for the second try after 10 minutes, and that was the moment when the capacity crowd really started to believe that Ireland might finally beat the All Blacks.
As we know now, that sadly wasn't to be, and Best's day was cut short almost immediately after that stirring crossing of the whitewash. As you will see in the footage of the try below, All Black prop Charlie Faumuina falls on Best's arm after he scores, but that doesn't seem to do too much damage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PnsuoZUyhw
However, it may have started something as minutes later a fairly routine tackle sees Best pull away, holding his right arm. Now if we broke a nail we'd be calling for the doctor but Best not only continues to play, he dives into a ruck with his broken arm, as highlighted by the lads on Against The Head.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79hv2zxddSg
That is phenomenal courage, bordering on crazy to be honest and it shows just what a competitor he is. If you speak to any Irish rugby international, Best's name always pops up as one of the most respected and admired players in the squad. A former captain, he leads by example and while Sean Cronin was exceptional when he came in on Sunday, we would dearly love to see Best back in action by the time the Six Nations starts.
And the final reason we reckon Best deserves the Hero of the Week nod this week is that he tweeted out his post-op X-ray, just so we could all see just how his arm looks now, with we think eight screws holding his arm together. Ouch.
The prognosis is that Best will be back in late January, a real blow to Ulster as he will miss their final four Heineken Cup games, but if there is any justice he will be fit and well for the first Six Nations game against Scotland on February 2. If anyone deserves a speedy recovery, it is Rory Best.
He might not have got the win against New Zealand, but he was a shoo-in for the Snickers Workwear Hero of the Week this week.
