Finally back in the mix, Harlequin's Demetri Catrakilis opens up on the injury that left him fearing for his life

Exclusive: The South African-born fly-half has returned to action at Harlequins after suffering a freak injury last September. Here, he talks to The Independent about his road to recovery

Demetri Catrakilis made his return to action for Harlequins over the weekend (Getty)

The dazzling emergence of teenaged fly-half Marcus Smith, who has been picked in a series of England squads in recent months and dubbed “the apprentice” by head coach Eddie Jones, has obscured an incredible sub-plot at Harlequins this season. Demetri Catrakilis was the man originally earmarked by the London side as their No 10 until a “freak” accident in only his second match in September caused him to fear he might lose his life.

South African-born Catrakilis came to Quins as a high-profile signing from top French club Montpellier last summer, with designs on filling the gap left by the retired All Black, Nick Evans, and steering his new club up the Premiership table.

Instead Catrakilis has only just returned to the famous multi-coloured jersey, by making his second start of the season in Sunday’s win over Bath, after spending five months in recuperation from the injury to his throat he suffered about 10 minutes into his first start, against Gloucester last September.

Catrakilis feared for his life following a routine challenge involving Jamie Roberts and Andy Symons last September (Getty)

The 28-year-old, who has played Top 14 and Super Rugby semi-finals for his previous teams, is thrilled to be playing again while revealing he will never be the same as he was before his accident.

“It was a tackle where unfortunately a shoulder caught my throat, it was just bad timing,” said Catrakilis, of the seemingly routine challenge he went into involving his own team-mate, Jamie Roberts, and the Gloucester centre Andy Symons.

“I was struggling to breathe for a while and it didn’t go away. I was given oxygen on the pitch and taken off on a stretcher. But while I was coming off the field, I’d realised it wasn’t going to go away, and the 30-minute ride in the ambulance was probably the worst feeling because I just wasn’t too sure it I was going to be able to breathe a lot longer. I’ve never felt anything close to that before. I was struggling to breathe. I wasn’t too sure if I was going to make it, at one stage.

“There was just no space in my airway. It was just me fighting to get air. But we got to the hospital and they sorted me out. They gave me a few steroids, a few injections that eventually brought the swelling down in my throat, which allowed me to have a bit of air. Luckily there was a little bit of room to breathe, which was enough for me to get to the hospital.”

Catrakilis had surgery a few weeks later, to clear some cartilage that had collapsed into the airway and was preventing his vocal cords from working properly. “Now everyone needs to listen a little bit more,” Catrakilis said with a laugh.

Then, more seriously, he added: “For the first week, my breathing wasn’t great. For about three weeks, I could barely speak. I was at a whisper volume. It was pretty hard to eat. It was a whole process, of ticking off boxes. First: needed to breathe. Second: needed to eat. Third: the voice. And I’ve ticked those boxes now.

“My voice is not the same as what it once was. It’s just not as loud. I think it will stay like this. But it is good enough. I can live a decent life, play rugby – happy days. It could be a lot worse.”

The fly-half has made a successful return to rugby since his horror injury last year (Getty)

None of this was known by the 13,000-strong crowd at The Stoop in September, who had watched the then 18-year-old Smith take over from Catrakilis at fly-half and kick 10 points in the 28-17 Premiership win over Gloucester.

Fast forward to the Sunday just gone, and the Quins spectators gave Catrakilis a heartfelt ovation when he was replaced by Smith in a thankfully much more routine substitution in the 20-5 victory over Bath. Wearing the No.10 jersey once more, Catrakilis had kicked seven points and given a tidy display of controlled kicking and varied distribution.

“It was almost the best moment, getting that reaction from the crowd,” Catrakilis said. “A lot of hard work has gone into coming back out onto the field. Just to get that appreciation from everyone who hasn’t been in my footsteps, but understands the situation, has been amazing. There has been so much support from the club, the fans and my family.

“Starting again is a different beast to coming on [as a replacement]. I played a lot longer in this match, so the lungs are going hard. I put in a lot of hard work in training, I’m a bit rusty but it is like getting back on a bike, it’s still rugby.”

Catrakilis admits it could have been a lot worse after initially fearing the worst (Getty)

Catrakilis – who was born in Johannesburg to a Greek father and Cypriot mother – won the European Challenge Cup, beating Harlequins in the 2016 final, during two seasons with Montpellier and, before his French sojourn, he represented two South African sides, the Stormers and the Kings in Super Rugby, as well as winning two Currie Cups.

“We have no control over our lives and you just need to adapt and carry on,” he said. “To be on the sidelines watching the guys has been hard. At the same time, it was a great opportunity for Marcus Smith and he has taken it with both hands. Marcus, when I first got here, was just an academy boy. But he has leapt over James Lang and Tim Swiel, who has also had injuries, and he’s done amazingly well.”

Quins have five league matches remaining, as their sole focus, and should have their battalion of England players back for the next game, away to Saracens at London’s Olympic Stadium on 24 March.

“We’d like to win a few games in a row,” said Catrakilis. “Saracens is a tough one but anything is possible. It’s a neutral ground and it will be great to be playing and competing. I’m looking to be involved a lot longer.”

John Kingston, Harlequins’ director of rugby, is understandably glad, too, saying after the Bath win: “Demetri is a class act, that’s why I brought him to the club. It’s fantastic to have him back, and it will be a battle royal for the fly-half slot, going forward. It’s just great to see him out there.

“I haven’t seen an injury like that and it’s amazing he’s shown that durability, and he led the sing-song with a couple of others in the changing room, the one we have after we win games. It was pointed out to him he wasn’t around for the song after the Gloucester game because he’d gone to hospital. It’s just brilliant, to see the smile on his face. I’m sure there’s been dark times when the frustration has been unbelievable.

“He and Francis Saili and Renaldo Bothma are players I went out to get last summer, and they’ve had nothing to contribute, really, through the adversity they’ve had. It’s going to feel like three new signings for us.”