One article that was featured in Wasps’
Stinger Programme at Twickenham was a piece that I penned after attending an extremely interesting business breakfast one Friday morning on April... however
it dawned on me last night that I never
pushed the publish button for the post to be featured here on Out On The Full.
Therefore as a little festive throwback here is the full ‘Life After Rugby’
article and I do hope that you enjoy it;
“Life
is rugby, if you are in any doubt about that just watch the range of emotions
that I go through when I watch Wasps” those were the words of Wasps' Club
Chairman and former player Mark Rigby or ‘Riggers’ as his team mates
knew him.
Mark
was speaking at the Wasps Business Club Breakfast held at the
headquarters of his company CVS. In
the modern era, retirement and indeed the forced early retirement of players is
something that we are all too familiar with and this Business Club Breakfast
provided the opportunity to delve deeper into the subject and to look at what
our Aviva Premiership Clubs and the Rugby Players Association are doing to
support players during this time of great change in their lives.
It
was a privilege to hear the stories of five extremely well known
individuals; Tim Payne, Andy Gomarsall, Tom Voyce, Hugo Southwell and Damian
Hopley. The discussion was led by the accomplished and experienced sports
broadcaster, BT Sport commentator, Nick Mullins and it really was a captivating
morning.
No
two players follow the same path when it comes to their career and indeed the
end of it and that was evident from the differing stories that the panel
shared; retirement was forced upon some whilst others chose to hang up their
boots at a particular moment in time. Regardless of the different journeys
there were some clear similarities and pertinent points raised during the
morning’s discussion. Damian Hopley hit the nail on the head when he said that
"Professional sport is the only career that, when you retire, you have to start working
again" and a key point highlighted by every single former player was the
feeling of 'losing your identity' the moment that you hang up your boots.
Damian
likened the process of going through his retirement to going through a personal
bereavement, he explained that for him life stopped in its tracks and for a long
period of time he couldn't figure out who he was or what he wanted to do.
Wasps’ captain last season Hugo Southwell found it tough to talk about the day
when he was told that he had to retire, it was only three short months ago, and
he said that the atmosphere in the consultancy room was 'as close to a morgue
as you can imagine'. Believe me when I say that these words are not exaggerated
in the slightest; retirement from rugby be it forced or unforced can 'break'
even the toughest of characters.
Tom
Voyce isn't short of a spot of confidence or two, that was clear from the
manner in which he spoke and the jacket that he had selected for the morning
(!) however he recalled just how challenging the transition was for him and how
he actively sought the help of a councillor provided through the RPA. 'I
thought I was mentally very strong, I'd done things in my career that many
couldn't do and yet I found this battle in my head. It was a case of having
someone who I could talk to who looked into my life and said that it was going
to be alright, having someone to give you that knowledge that you can do it and
that things will be ok.'
Today's
players have a bulletproof mentality, they believe that they are untouchable
and you can understand why given the physicality and brutality involved in the
modern game however as we all know that isn’t always the case. Planning for
life beyond rugby whilst playing the game almost seems like flirting with fate
and subconsciously inviting injury to happen however as every former player
stressed that is not the case and it is an absolutely vital thing to do. Now
Premiership Clubs are working closely with the RPA to structure this process
and really ensure that current players plan early in order to ensure whenever
they do retire their transition is as seamless as possible. This support is
provided not only by individuals Clubs but also by the RPA’s Player Development
Programme and their Player Development Managers. The most recent retiree Hugo
Southwell credited the work of Ben McGregor, the London Wasps PDM, who he said
had been ‘absolutely instrumental’ in helping him to move forward and structure
his future away from rugby.
Now
you may think all of this planning could be a distraction for our Premiership
players however in fact many players find having plans in place enables them to
‘free up some head space’ and really focus on their rugby. Indeed Andy
Gomersall said that he ‘became a better rugby player overnight’ as soon as he
sat on the board of a company due to the skills that he learnt from his
colleagues and that he found rugby to be a ‘piece of cake’ after the trials and
tribulations of board life!
Hearing
from the 5 former players it was crystal clear that the transition from a
headline grabbing rugby player to a mere mortal, as Nick Mullins described it,
is not an easy one. The shift from training with 35 of your best mates every
day and being part of a changing room where no stone is left un-turned to
suiting up on a daily basis and hitting the more formal corporate world is
challenging for even the toughest of men. One added hurdle that the panel spoke
about is the task of getting away from their former lives and becoming an
established and credible professional in a new industry; after-all what does a
Rugby World Cup winner know about technology or Foreign Exchange?!?
To
reiterate Damian’s quote "Sport is the only career that, when you retire,
you have to start working again" and the process of starting over is one
of the greatest challenges that any professional rugby player will ever face.
The work of the RPA together with the individual Premiership Clubs is vital to
ensure that stars of today can go on and be equally successful in their second
careers as and when they do retire from the game. All of the five former Wasps
were extremely open and honest about their individual experiences and it was
fantastic to hear about their stories and to understand just how our
Premiership Clubs are equipping today’s players for ‘Life After Rugby’.
