Newcastle Falcons VS Northampton - Programme

“You’ve got to
make the leap
sometime.”
“I know a lot of sportspeople will say the same thing in that the
aspect thing they remember or miss is the camaraderie, and just
the daily craic you have with the group. I’m blessed to have found
a lot of good life-long mates here, and that’s the best thing about
rugby at any level I think.”
Admitting his decision to retire came fairly naturally, he explains: “I
haven’t sought another contract anywhere, and everything’s just
telling me it’s the right time.
“Thankfully I’ve managed to sort out a potential job at a wealth
management firm in Newcastle, and I’m looking forward to getting
stuck into that. I’ve just got some exams to pass which I’m on with
at the moment, and I’m looking forward to taking that next step.
“I’ve done a couple of bits of work experience in that sort of field
over the past couple of years, trying to find out what interested
me most, and over the Covid period I did a financial qualification
which piqued my interest a bit more.
“I knew it was an avenue I wanted to go down, and after having
some conversations with people around the start of this year I
had an inkling I was going to retire and look at starting something
new. I was lucky enough to be chatting to a really good company
who have taken a punt on me, and they’re helping me through my
exams as well as a training programme to hopefully get qualified
at the end of this month.
“Within myself I just knew it was time. I’ve been doing this for 16
or 17 years, which I’ve absolutely loved, and it just got to the point
where I wasn’t even hunting out a contract for next season. That
kind of told me that I’d made up my mind, and I’m just ready for
a change.
“Being a professional rugby player for 17 years isn’t great for your
body, but I’ve been lucky enough not to have the decision forced
upon me by injury or anything like that.
“You’ve got to make the leap sometime, and I just felt this was
the best moment to set something up for me and my family over
the longer term.
“I’m blessed to
have found a lot
of good life-long
mates here.”
“I’ll give it a good go, but of course I’ll always look back really
fondly on my time with Newcastle Falcons.”
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