The problems with ending a career are in focus as the game prepares to say goodbye to O’Callaghan, Habana, Croft and Brits
Every year around this time the list of players retiring from the game makes bittersweet reading. The names, whether famous or not, are a reminder that nothing lasts forever, that even the fiercest warriors have a finite shelf life. In the case of the Premiership, according to Damian Hopley of the Rugby Players’ Association, the average life-span is seven to eight years. Those who last more than a decade can count themselves lucky.
This year’s crop of retirees in Europe has stirred some particularly strong emotions and rightly so. Worcester’s Donncha O’Callaghan was one of the few left with experience of club rugby in the 20th century. Bryan Habana, Juan Martín Hernández, Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, Jamie Heaslip, Schalk Brits, Tom Croft, John Muldoon … in their differing ways all of them were inspirational figures who will be hugely missed.
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