Being Dropped into Retirement

[Guy1002]

When did everyone know it was time to retire?

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

As someone who has recently decided to give up on playing rugby for the time being it, it was 100% down to starting to feel my body starting to give.

My biggest worry playing rugby was always my knees (Especially coming back from a big knee injury) and my back, I didn't want to be one of these guys in their Late 20's early 30's who where strapped up like a mummy taking a mouthful of pain killers just to play 80 mins for their local. So I always said to myself once I started to feel either pain in my back or Knees I would consider stopping and now in my mid 20's the time has come. I just didn't fancy spending the rest of my 20's or even my early 30's having to worry about my back or knees giving especially since it wasn't my living.

I might get back into it if things clear up, but who knows.

One thing I wished i did earlier was take up yoga though.

 

[Fuzzy du Plessis]

I was 13 and my school, despite spending only one P.E. lesson on rugby, somehow ended up at an inter-school competition. It was a ******* nightmare, we had no idea what we were doing and our teacher had no knowledge at all about the sport. Fortunately there was no set-pieces because positions were giving to us entirely at random. I was incredibly scrawny and all the posh schools had absolute behemoths. Bumped off tackles repeatedly and smashed any time I got the ball, it looked a bit like the video of Abendanon vs the Tuilagis. At one point I gave chase to one of their players who had broken through, running at full tilt I noticed out of the corner of my eye their biggest lad passing me by. This fucker looked like Kieran Brookes at his worst and he just burned me. Basically I had all the size and strength of George Ford with the speed and grace of Dan Cole.

I realised at that point it was time to hang up the boots and, after a long conversation in which he begged me to change my mind, Sir Clive reluctantly accepted my decision. It's funny now but I genuinely did completely lose interest in the sport for a couple of years after that day. If it wasn't for Jonny's heroics down-under I might not be here today watching Tigers get spanked 43 nil by Glasgow at Welford Road...Ahhh ****.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Dislocated my knee for the 2nd time playing 7s and it took a loooong time to come back from it,
When I did I played another season but never really felt comfortable and my knee was always giving me issues.
Also got tendonitis in my hand/wrist and no amount of strapping would stop it from being ****** for the week after playing.

In the end I decided I enjoyed being able to walk pain free more than I enjoyed playing.
Still miss it sometimes, would like to play some touch but the nearest o2 touch to me is like an hour drive each way or something ludicrous