Stopping before your time: The greatest sadness in sport

The day comes when you can no longer pull on a pair of boots. For some, this is a moment you never quite get over. Something you have done for as far back as your memory extends has ended, and filling that hole can be no straightforward matter.

There is an inevitable, understandable tendency to focus on the retirement of players who have graced the highest levels of the game. The questions always asked of such players include ones of how much they will miss playing in front of a big crowd on a big day.

The questions flow naturally on to discussions of great wins and shattering losses, as a career is neatly boxed, stacked, and ranked with those who have passed before.