Weekend's bloodbath leaves me looking to the future
In his latest blog, Chris Whitehead, the Exeter Chiefs hooker, reflects on how retirement always looms large for the professional sportsman.
For people who love their jobs, the prospect of retirement is a frightening one and the spectre of how to provide for yourself and your family in retirement is ever-present.
In professional sport, though, it is something that hangs over your head pretty much from the moment you start your career - this must be the only profession in life where you have to find work post-retirement. If I had a pound for every time I have heard myself mutter the words, "I don't really class what we do as a job" I would be an awful lot richer and the worry of retirement - early or graceful - would be so much less of an issue.
The reality is, however, that what I do is a job. Arguably it is the best job in the world, but with that comes the occasional pitfall and there is no denying how taxing both mentally and physically it can be. Relentless aches and pains that no normal 26-year-old should feel are taken for granted and then there is the very real worry of dipping in and out of form - and with that comes the threat of selection that, surprisingly, not only affects you personally but also those closest to you. And all of this without even mentioning having to live with these ears, one of which is sporting several stitches after the Bath game...
But on a slightly more serious note, we are paid to perform. If we are not performing and as a result not winning then, I can assure you, you're not the only one overthinking players’ form and selection.
It might be worthwhile mentioning at this point that I am not writing this column in the hope that you muster up some sort of sympathy towards us. After all, we are the lucky ones that get paid to do something we love. More so, maybe, to give you a small insight into the day-to-day life of a professional rugby player and the underlying fear that this dream can be over far too soon - and often long before it's really got going.
As professional rugby players, we all go through a long period desperately trying to break into a position in order to start earning a comfortable living. All the time, we are putting our whole lives into training, pushing our bodies to the absolute limit while battling with constant competition in order to get one step closer to our one and only goal.
The majority of players sit through meetings put on by such organisations as the RPA (Rugby Players’ Association) to raise awareness of the inevitability of eventual retirement with the nonchalant attitude of "it will never happen to me". And, I admit, that was me not so long ago.
Now, however, actually seeing players - even my rugby idols such as David Flatman and Peter Short - forced to retire just as they reach the pinnacle of their careers it comes as a huge wake-up call. Fortunately there are very good insurance policies in place for such eventualities, yet the fear for me - and I'm sure I am not alone - is not the loss of money, but the inability to continue doing something I have dreamt about for so long.
My late grandma Sheila would always tell me to “be lucky” whenever we said goodbye. Never has that phrase seemed more pertinent, both in life and in today's game of professional rugby.
