Beard reveals how appendicitis almost derailed his World Cup
Adam Beard has revealed the full drama behind his pre-World Cup appendix condition - and being deemed too dangerous to fly on health grounds.
Beard says that Wales' medical staff feared the World Cup squad's Tokyo-bound plane might have had to make an emergency landing had he boarded it.
And after arriving at Heathrow on Wales' World Cup departure day, he was promptly driven back to Cardiff on the same team bus and straight into an accident and emergency unit.
While the Wales squad set off for the tournament without him, 23-year-old Ospreys forward Beard underwent surgery to have his appendix removed before arriving in Japan 11 days ago.