Painful Memories

Two NZ athletes feature in a list of sport’s 20 worst injuries, as chosen by The Times of South Africa. Cricketer Trevor Franklin is ranked 17th and former All Black captain Buck Shelford 15th in a list topped by David Beckham (the freak boot-to-the-head incident). In 1986, Franklin suffered multiple leg fractures after being run over by a luggage trolley while on tour in England. The same year, Shelford sustained a gruesome series of injuries during a home match against France. Shelford’s scrotum was ripped open in a vicious ruck, leaving one testicle hanging free. After being stitched up and sent back onto the field, he lost four teeth and received a severe concussion, in two separate incidents. “I was knocked cold, lost a few teeth and had a few stitches down below,” Shelford said. “It’s a game I still can’t remember.”