After his struggles over the past few years, Corey Domachowski has regained his love for the game and is ready for a very special reunion.
The Wales the prop admits his “head was in the shed” as he was plagued by a series of injuries and ended up putting on a front to cover up his problems.
But he is now fit again and has regained his spark after embarking on a new challenge with the Scarlets.
As fate would have it, he faces an immediate showdown against his former team, with Cardiff Rugby opponents in Llanelli this Saturday in the first weekend of the BKT URC season.
After enjoying the highs of his Wales debut in the summer of 2023 and playing in that autumn’s World Cup and subsequent Guinness Six Nations, the 11-cap stalwart then fell on hard times.
“If I’m going to be honest with myself, the last two and a half years have probably been a setback in my career. A lot of things have been going on,” he admits.
“I had a bit of bad luck with the injury. I probably wasn’t as proactive as I should have been during that time. I struggled a bit mentally to deal with the injuries.”
“It wasn’t something I had really had to deal with in my career up to that point.
“It happened at a time when I was probably hitting the most I had in my career, so it was hard to take.
“You go to rehab every day, but it can still become a lonely place, especially when you see other boys coming back to play and you’ve got a few weeks or months to go. I haven’t been playing games for very long.”
He continues: “I’ll be honest with you, I really struggled.
“Being the type of person that I am, always full of energy, laughing and joking, it became a point where it was forced because I didn’t want to show people that I was struggling with injuries.
“That’s the thing. It takes a lot to talk and it was hard for me at first. I wouldn’t even talk to my family and tell them I was struggling.”
“It got to a point where I had to because it was ruining my life. My head was in the shed with everything.
“I just wanted to do what I love, which is to play rugby.
“I found myself in a position where when I was coming back from injury I didn’t really enjoy how much I had because I was a bit nervous about giving it my all and having my body break down again.
“Rugby is one of those games where you can’t play at 90 percent, you have to give everything,
“That’s what I found I was missing. That was a big part of why I made the decision to go and see if I could get that spark back.”
“It was a pretty tough time, but it’s all about character. It molded me into the person I am today. I learned from those things. If I get injured again, I’ll definitely take a different path than the one I took.”
Having been at Cardiff for over a decade, making 135 appearances, it was a big move for Rhondda product Domachowski to head west and join Scarlets this summer.
“I was a little nervous the first few weeks. It was obviously a big change,” admits the 30-year-old.
“Cardiff was all I knew for ten years so going to another club was a bit nerve wracking but literally from the moment I walked into Parc y Scarlets everyone welcomed me and I felt at home straight away. They were good to me and I really like it.
“My desire and love for the game has returned, and my motivation remains the same.
“I want to get back into the Welsh team and I want to be number one at the Scarlets.
“I decided to leave Cardiff and try something different because I had just lost that spark that I had always had and I finally got it back.
“I think I was just too comfortable being in one environment for so long.
“I think it was best that I left from a personal point of view and from a club point of view.
“The last two years at the club didn’t exactly go according to plan from my perspective, and obviously from their perspective as well.
“I didn’t play as much as I would have liked or they probably would have liked.
“We didn’t leave on bad terms or anything. It was just a decision I had to make and I’m happy I made it. I’m really excited.”
“The reason you play the game is because you love it. We’re lucky to be able to do it as a business.
“My kids keep telling me, ‘Dad, you’re going to work.’ I don’t see it as work. To me, it’s not work, it’s a privilege.
“At one point, it was tiring for me and then I knew that things had to change. I needed to find that love and luckily I found it and I’m enjoying it again.
“I fully believe that you will see the best version of me this year.”
Now, firstly, comes a derby day reunion with his old friends in Cardiff.
“You just couldn’t write that!” he says.
“Funnily enough, when I told the players and staff that I had decided to leave, the next day was when the fixtures came out.
“We were inside South Africa at that time. I was a bit sad for the rest of the trip!
“It’s a game that’s been in the back of my mind since I made the decision to leave.
“I will play against good colleagues and we will be able to fight for 80 minutes. It will be exciting.
“It’s probably going to feel a little weird at first, but when you’re in game mode, you’re there for yourself and the team.
“I’ll have to keep my head on my shoulders during the game. It’s one I’m definitely looking forward to and may the best men win.”