MUNSTER’s David Wallace announced his retirement from rugby yesterday. Below are some quotes from the great man. What a player.
Were you hoping for another season or two?
I was, yeah, when it happened the last thing I was thinking about was retiring and even coming up to the six month mark I felt fine but ironically the closer I came to playing the more it went the other way, it was still giving me a bit of pain and there was no reason why I should have given it another few months because it was at a level where it wasn’t going to change much and time has kinda shown that. I suppose I still needed to give it a short and see what it was like; I got to a certain level but I was probably on anti inflamms to get through training sessions and matches; if I came off that I’d be limping around a bit and it (knee) would be quite angry, so it wasn’t sustainable for me to continue with that and I think there was probably a gradual realisation of where it was at; in some ways it wasn’t a massive shock to me but it wasn’t working out.
How big a blow was the decision to retire?
I would have hoped, feeling the way I did outside of my knee, I would have hoped to play two, maybe even three more years and I don’t think my age would have restricted me; I felt like I did at 25 and there was no reason in my mind that I couldn’t have played on for a few more years and I don’t think anyone else in that situation should be dictated to by numbers and figures; just go and be guided how your body feels.
Pretty attritional though for back row forwards, No?
I suppose the demands are getting more and more each year, the guys are getting fitter, more powerful and because they’re fitter they’re able to retain that power for longer periods. You look back at old footage, even 10 or 15 years ago you had guys that were powerful but didn’t have the fitness levels to maintain that for a whole game. If you get guys fit and able to maintain that obviously you make a bigger impact for longer periods of time and that, I supposewill take its toll just by sheer weight of matches you play and game time, you’re obviously going to get more injuries.
How difficult mentally?
Of course, it’s not the position I wanted to be in, ideally I would have wanted to play on but when I sit and think about it for any longer than five seconds it’s plain to me what the decision is and talking to medics, players, coaches, friends and family it’s very clear to me in that sense and that makes it quite easy mentally to make the decision. If I wasn’t comfortable with it or if I felt for a second I wasn’t doing the right thing, it would be a lot harder. Yeah, I feel I’m making the right decision and feel I’m at ease with it.
One highlight?
Irish career it would be the Grand Slam, for me that’s a no brainer, something that created a bit of history and being part of that team was something very special and I will really relish that.
With Munster, obviously the two Heineken Cups and I don’t know if I can emotionally distinguish between the two, the first one obviously we had failed a couple of times before and it was our third time and there was a lot of pressure and we felt we just couldn’t come away, even for the supporters sake, as well as ourselves, without some silverware. That was probably more relief than anything and the second one was facing Toulouse in a final which was for me, growing up watching Toulouse who were, and probably still are one of the teams to beat in Europe. To beat them in a final was really, really, pleasing and something which made you feel you had certainly won the competition by just beating them in the final.
Proud to be part of the great Wallace family?
Yeah absolutely, it’s something that really helped me in my career too, growing up and seeing what they did to get to the levels that they did, the work they put in and how they did it; that was very enlightening for me to watch the work they put in and how it paid off. That really helped me and guided me in my career. Obviously watching Paul and Richard, Paul was the first to make it through the schools and then Richard was there with Ireland, so that was an amazing time because I was at a very influential age then and it was massive for me. Obviously they both went on for the Lions and when I got called out for the Lions in 2001 and I was told it was the first time that three brothers player for the Lions, it was very special.
What’s next?
I’m still planning won’t be jumping into anything too soon but have a couple of business opportunities I want to explore, obviously want to spend time with my family and take maybe a bit of a break from rugby at least, to enjoy some bit of free time and enjoy the challenges of life after rugby.
Coaching role?
I’d like to keep my toe in but I don’t know if coaching would be for me, certainly not in the immediate future, I’d like to get my weekends free and maybe remain in some form stay involved.
Quotes supplied by John Fallon.
