Nursing a nasty black eye he struggled to keep open, Richie Asiata could not help but laugh when reflecting on his journey from the brink of Australian rugby exile to shock Wallabies prospect. Last year he was doubting his ability to break back into the Queensland Reds fold, let alone garner a Test jumper, as a series of injuries curtailed his career and left him sidelined for the entire Super Rugby Pacific campaign. “I did my MCL at the beginning of the year, then came back from it and injured it again. I tried to come back again, then injured it again, so it wasn’t the best feeling,” Asiata said, days out from the Reds’ clash with the Brumbies on Saturday. “Then I came back and did my back as well, so it wasn’t the best of times. There are low times … you always have doubts, we’re human after all.