Nic Dolly knew his knee injury was a ticking time bomb. It went off right before one of the biggest games of his career.
The 26-year-old has battled injury throughout his career, but his latest came at a cruel moment, ruling him out on the day of the Western Force’s clash with the British & Irish Lions.
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It denied Dolly a chance to face several former teammates, with the Aussie-born hooker representing England in 2021, eligible via his grandfather.
“I was pretty gutted at the time…I’d known about [the knee] for a while, probably since the Hurricanes game [in April] where it had flared up and given me some grief,” he told Rugby.com.au.
“We then went on tour for a couple of weeks, came back and then played the Brumbies so we went for a scan then. We discussed all the options, and we were on the same page to get through as much as we can before we have to try to intervene.
“Unfortunately, it lined up with being the day of the game, the fragment [of bone] that was causing the issue dislodged. I wasn’t meant to miss the game but it had a good run considering.”
Dolly is still on the mend, back at the ‘fun part’ where he can resume running after having the plate removed a fortnight ago to repair the issue.
The hooker has documented his ‘re-build’ on his Buildu Fitness page, giving an insight on the strenuous rehab and recovery that has extended beyond 150 days.
“It happened pretty organically. I was trying to give a bit more insight a fair while ago, and the only thing with injury is there's a little bit more time to work on that side, particularly around giving people an insight into what they might not usually see," he said.
“Knee injuries are very relatable to any rugby player, whether it's professional, semi-pro, or amateur. So I’m just trying to give an insight into what I’m doing and if that helps then great but also broader it’s nice to look back when some days I'm thinking things aren't happening as smoothly or as quickly as I'd like, I can look back and see two, three weeks ago, you know, where I was versus where I am now.
“It keeps me a bit level-headed, whereas what I've found is if I haven't documented stuff, I can get a bit frustrated with the process…it's a good barometer for you to stay on the path and keep trusting the process for a better sense."
The business and social media side of the game is something Dolly has continued to grow since settling in the west, eager to help others achieve their potential and improve their skills.
Dolly’s impressive lineout throwing recently went viral, receiving just under 800 thousand likes on Instagram.
“I think if you asked me a few years ago, I would have probably been doing a lot less,” he explained.
“There's obviously that friendly banter within the workplace, and some people like to take the piss a bit and whatnot, but it's obviously a good place. A lot of boys get behind the business, which is quite cool, and you see the boys rocking the hats or the shirts or whatever, which is pretty cool.
“I look at it and go, what would I wish I could have had growing up that I might not have had access to?
“Social media is free, and I do have paying clients that get access, whether it's programming or coaching, whatever service that I'm offering. But at the same time, I am just trying to give people a bit of an insight into what I'm doing.
“I'm not saying that this is the right way or this is the wrong way but all I'm trying to do is to put content out there that I believe is useful and that people can relate to and hopefully use for the better.”
Dolly's focus naturally remains on having an injury-free 2026 campaign as the Western Force eyes off a spot in the finals.
The former Leicester hooker showed the faith he has in the club after re-signing until the end of the 2028 season after just three games.
“I'd be lying if I didn't say it was a disappointing outcome for us not to make the finals [in 2025], but I'd say subjectively, performance-wise, we put out much better performances, and we're probably in games for longer,” he said. “We believe that we do have a squad to get to the finals if we can just tidy up a couple of things and particularly travel better.
“There's a lot of potential there from a team point of view and it's honestly one of the better groups that I've been a part of…it's an awesome place to be. I really enjoy it.
“I think the organisation has done a pretty good job in finding good blokes as well as good players and good potential players as well. I personally just know that I've really enjoyed my time out here so far and am super excited to see what we can do with the squad we've got this year.”
