Milan (AFP)

Deprived of the use of an eye, Ian McKinley managed a spectacular return to rugby with the Italian team, a story told in a documentary film of which he is the hero.

McKinley lost use of his left eye in January 2010, when a player's spike pierced his eyeball.

Then player of Leinster and the Irish team of less than 20 years, he was forced to stop rugby a year later, thus putting an end to his dream of playing for the XV of Clover.

But the Dublin native, now 30, doesn't like to lose.

"Lo Sguardo Oltre - Look beyond," which will be released on May 18 in Italy, traces his fight, with the help of his brother Philip and thanks to specially designed glasses, to find a way to return to the field.

"(This) is the story of two brothers who join forces to overcome Ian's disability issues," said director Lia Beltrami of the 67-minute documentary.

When his career in Ireland ended, McKinley moved to Italy to train in Udine, near the border with Slovenia.

But he misses the game desperately, and his dream comes true when his brother asks a student of the National College Art and Design of Ireland to help him design special protective glasses.

McKinley can then return to the field, in the Italian third division. Then he went semi-professional to Viadana and found the elite with Zebre, one of the two Italian clubs engaged in Pro12, before landing in Treviso in 2016.

His comeback was completed when Italy coach XV Conor O'Shea offered him his first cape in November 2017, during a test match against Fiji. McKinley entered the game as the opening half, passing a penalty and the Azzurri won 19-10.

"Their story is intended to inspire all those young people who lose courage because of disabilities, loneliness and deep pain," says Lia Beltrami.

- For wearing glasses -

McKinley now has eight appearances with Italy.

For his first Six Nations Tournament in 2019, he played three games but could not avoid the Azzurri with a wooden spoon.

"There is a lot of criticism of the Italian national team because of its results in Six Nations and the fact that it has not won for a long time," deplores McKinley, interviewed by AFP, from his home in Treviso.

"We are all competitors, we all want to win, not winning a match hurts (...) People are working very hard to try to rectify this, to bring this winning mentality, but it is a long process", continues the opening half.

His last international match ended in a loss in Ireland (29-10) in preparation for the World Cup last August. However, he was not in Japan.

His fight did not stop when he returned to competition. Off the field, one of his great victories was the authorization by World Rugby in 2019 to wear protective goggles on the ground, which France and England in particular refused.

The film's premiere in Dublin was not screened in theaters due to the new coronavirus pandemic, but the film is released online, on Amazon Prime and various channels.

"It's not like a movie, it's really a camera that has come into my house and interviews with people I know, it's very personal," McKinley admits.

"I hope it will inspire people and show what it's like to have a good group of people around you," he said.

© 2020 AFP