Emotional Munster star Damien Varley calls time after losing injury battle
Damien Varley, one of the most committed and popular Munster players over the past eight years, has announced his retirement.
The 31-year-old Killaloe man struggled to hide his emotions yesterday when admitting that he had lost his battle with the foot injury that has dogged him since July 2013.
A tough, determined and able hooker, Varley was a member of the St Munchin’s Munster Schools Cup-winning side in 2002 before joining Garryowen, with whom he won All-Ireland League and Munster Senior and Bateman Cup medals in 2006.
A year later and approaching his mid-20s, he tried his luck in the professional game with London Wasps and his career took off in dramatic fashion.
He went on to make 121 appearances for Munster, scored 12 tries, was captain on eight occasions and picked up three Irish caps.
Varley was informed by a London specialist last month he wouldn’t be able to sustain pressure on his foot and that he needed to rehab simply to have a quality of life.
“When it is put to you like that, it is a bit upsetting,” he said.
“I was gutted. It was the day before the Saracens game and I was hooking up with the team to do a Q&A. It took me a few hours to get my head around it and dry off the tears. I didn’t tell anyone at the time. You have to give it time to sink in.”
“There is a material called fascia in the heel. It just kept ripping off, so the surgery was to cut it off completely. I got two-thirds of it removed and the remaining third is still causing issues, so it puts us in this position.
"I am going to step away from the game. I want to give myself a few months and assess everything and see what is the next chapter.
"I’m involved in a few different things outside of rugby. I did a degree in biomedical engineering and started an MBA in September.”
Damien also admitted music may well play a part in his future. He is already well-known to the public after a stirring renditions of the songs “Lean on Me” and “Nancy Spain” on Brendan O’Connor’s The Saturday Night Show on RTÉ in May 2012.
Varley broke the mould of those who have forced their way into the Munster team over the last seven or eight years when the more promising players were signed up for the academy on leaving school.
He played club rugby for several years before revealing the stubborn side of his nature when it came to earning a professional contract.
“Doing it that way gives you a different perspective, of how hard it is to get in,” he mused. Typically Varley didn’t dwell on the highlights of his career.
"He mentioned Munster’s Magners League victory and beating the Australian touring team but stressed the greater importance of “being part of the collective group and not just from a rugby point of view, the players, coaches, people I have worked with.”
