There's the little matter of the World Cup in France this summer and, for a player who has established himself as the Wallabies heart and soul over the past decade, it was looming at a time where everything seemed to be falling into place. His form was consistent, his body responding to each and every demand.

Then - during a routine training exercise - he went one way, and his knee went the other.

'When I first did it I thought my world had ended,' Latham said during a break in the mayhem at the Deutsche Valley Long Lunch, a pre-cursor to Fun Friday at the Sevens.

'It went from being not as serious as I first thought to being a lot more serious than other people first thought. But thankfully after a little while and some tests and some surgery I have that belief and assurance that I'll be okay. You just have to turn any news you get into a positive and that's what I've been doing.'

Good news for the Australians, who will be looking to the strapping fullback to lead their World Cup campaign.

The diagnosis in the end was a ripped anterior cruciate ligament and Latham immediately set himself to a minutely detailed recovery and strengthening programme. And a little bit of surgery.

'I'm probably another month away until I can start running,' said Latham, who now ranks second on the Wallabies' all-time scoring list behind David Campese. 'So far it's been a lot of rebuilding. It's pretty good. I'm 10 weeks into a six-month rehab and everything is going pretty good. The past 10 months have felt like 10 years.'

Latham cut a unique figure at the Long Lunch, limping around to fulfill his speaking engagements and being perhaps the only man under the big top at the Indian Recreation Club to not partake of a drink. Or seven.

Still, once it came time for the question and answer session, he didn't hold back in expressing his views - and grabbing the chance to have a dig at the old enemy.

'I had heard a lot about the Long Lunch,'' Latham said. 'But it's a little bit soft. It definitely wouldn't cut it in Australia, but we are in Hong Kong and there are a lot of Englishmen here.'

It was a whistle-stop tour for Latham - in and out in 24 hours - and while it wasn't his first visit, following an appearance for the Reds in 1998, he said he was glad - but also a little sad - after tapping into the pulse of the Sevens for the first time.

'I've always heard about how the Sevens is a big event in Hong Kong and I took notice but never really took it all in,' he said. 'Mate, it's absolutely amazing. It's amazing on the one hand and really disappointing on the other because I have never witnessed it as a player.

'But you never know, my career is not over yet and I still might be able to work my way into a team before I'm done.'

Not being able to join in the drinking had little effect on Latham's enjoyment of the afternoon - he posed for photos with the fawning suits and answered every autograph request thrown his way.

'Not drinking is not hard at all,' he said. 'The World Cup is the pinnacle of rugby and this World Cup means everything to me and I'll certainly be staying off the alcohol. If we win, well then it might be time to knock the top off a few.'

He said as far as the Wallabies were concerned, the form might not exactly be earth-shattering but he's confident that come the big event, they will have every piece in place.

'We haven't been together since November,' said Latham. 'There's a few of the boys injured, a few coming back from injury. But we're a team, we're a nation that really sees the World Cup as the pinnacle ... and once we get together we'll be really focused and we seem to save our best for the really big occasions.'

While the rampaging New Zealanders are obviously everyone's early pick for the World Cup, Latham was certain the Kiwis would not have everything their own way.

'Granted, New Zealand were the best team last year. But you can't take anything away from the French over the past season, Ireland's form has been fantastic and South Africa are a little bit of a dark horse,' he said.

'New Zealand are the form team and they've earned the respect that goes with that position, but there will always be a lot of teams out there who can push them, especially when it comes to a World Cup.'