AS a rugby player there’s nothing worse than the feeling that you have left your teammates down so I have a lot of sympathy for Rynard Landman at the moment.

I know that he is gutted after his red card after 14 minutes of our 30-25 defeat to Connacht last week but he will bounce back and return stronger from this.

I’ve not quite been in exactly the same situation of having to say sorry for such a misdemeanour but I have missed vital tackles and suffered one nightmare moment against Glasgow in 2011.

I was waiting to ground the ball over our line and their player managed to get their first – I’ve never been so nervous watching a kick when Tovey managed to save my backside and grab us a draw at the death.

All players have been there and it’s a terrible feeling in the changing room afterwards but Rynard has been fantastic for us this season and has led by example when deputising for Lee Byrne as our captain.

The boys were terrific after his sending off, it was a real test of character and they stood together to get a well-deserved bonus point against the odds.

It was one of those games that could have gone really sour but they bounced back from the red card and a 17-3 scoreline to really push Connacht’s 15 men all the way.

It was a game that shows that we are on the right track as a team and although we went into the game looking to back up our win in Leinster that hard-earned bonus point could prove to be important come the end of the season.

The performance will mean that the mood is positive for Sunday’s trip to Italy to face Zebre but there is no danger of complacency out there.

We know from experience how tricky it can be in Parma and last year we needed a late try by Jevon Groves, who had just come on for me, to leave with a 25-25 draw.

It will be tough – and Italian teams are always strong up front – but we are moving forward as a team and a win would set us up nicely for our home game against Ulster.

On a personal front I’ll be in a cast for seven more weeks and it’s killing me not being able to drive. I’m relying on other boys to drive me around and they don’t mind a detour to pick me up, although the Crumlin roadworks are adding to the commute at the moment.

I was back at our training base in Ystrad Mynach on Tuesday for my first conditioning session since my wrist operation, which was a shock to the system!

The aim is to work on the fitness so that when my wrist is healed in the summer I can hit the ground running in pre-season