Harsh facts of rugby playing career revealed

Your career will last seven to ten years. If you’re lucky. There is a fair chance that you will struggle to adapt to the ‘real world’ once the boots are hung up and then there will quite possibly be physical repercussions too.

Life as a professional rugby player may be an enviable one but, according to a survey released by the Irish Rugby Union Players Association (IRUPA), it is a path that comes with a price.

The association quizzed 79 former Irish professional players with an age range between 24 and 49 on life after rugby and found that “31% claimed not to be in control of their lives” within two years of retirement.