DENIS Leamy was forced to retire from rugby this week. Here are some of his thoughts on life after rugby and of course he picks his highlights of a great career.
How did you come to the decision to retire?
I had a chat with the physio team a month or three weeks ago. Obviously it wasn’t responding to the way we hoped it would. I was hoping to maybe start running at the start of May and that wasn’t the case. I still have a bad limp so I started to get worried and then I think reality hit in that maybe it wasn’t going to be a chance of coming back playing again.
How did the injury happen in the first place?
It is a difficult one, the injury really happened in the last week of the World Cup. I came back and I got treatment and injections and played a few games, but I struggled. I had to play off the bench and any game I started I struggled to finish. During the game against Llanelli just before Christmas I ended up taking myself off the pitch because I was just in so much pain and agony. I had painkillers taken but they didn’t seem to come near killing the pain. I knew at that stage that it was a very serious injury.
There was a lot of damage within the joint in terms of labour and damage and obviously the cartilage had worn away a lot as well. There was the onset of arthritis as well. There was a lot of damage to the joint and it was never going to be easy and it turned out like that.
I went for surgery in January and the medical people and doctors and everyone at Munster have done their very best to get me back and I respect that a lot and I thank them for all their hard work. Unfortunately the injury is too bad. It was a difficult decision but it is the right decision in the end up; it was time.
Up to that stage everything was positive and the Union had offered another contract and I was happy to sign that and I had agreed terms with Munster as well. I was looking forward to another couple of years and it is very disappointing news to have that taken away. It is something that I have done for the past 11 years and it is a big chance. It is a disappointing time, but there is a lot of positive things to reflect on and I am thankful for a lot of great times in the game.
Your personal Highlights?
I think in terms of silverware the Grand Slam with Ireland was absolutely fantastic and to play a role in that and to have a big part in the final game against Wales was brilliant. It was such a great occasion and a great honour to be involved.
For Munster it would have to be the Heineken Cup in 06. it had been coming for so long and to be part of that with so many great individuals and great players, it was a great honour to be on the same pitch as those players.
In general I have been blessed to work with so many great people. I think we had a great thing in Munster as well because we were great friends off the pitch as well as comrades on the pitch. We had a great thing going.
Any doubts it would never come?
I came into the squad in 01 and I was there for the heartbreak of losing the final to Leicester and for the hard work that went in for the four years after that. The guys that had lost the two previous finals really drove it on and led the work ethic and desire, the never say die. I just followed their lead and I did my up utmost because I had so much admiration for the fellas I played with and it was great to be beside them on the pitch when they fulfilled the dream that they had.
What message would you have for the players in the current squad?
I think it is going to be difficult. There is a hard road ahead. I think patience is going to be a big thing from everyone, from the players, coaches and from outside the playing group, the fans as well. You can’t expect these young players to be seasoned veterans overnight. They have to learn as much as we did along the way and learn form their losses. I have been lucky enough to see them up close and they are a very, very good group of young players. But there is still a group of the old heads like Paul, ROG, Donncha and Marcus. They’ll point them in the right direction and give them a good grounding about what they’ll have to look forward to in the future. But I think Munster is in a transition period and we are down at the moment but Munster Rugby will be back and there will be great days again in the future.
Are there enough old heads still there?
I think so. You look at the age profile of the lads that were there in the 02 final, Claw and Gallimh and the rest were a group of young lads pretty much and they had to learn pretty quickly and they got a steely determination about them and they were the ones that led it from then on.
You would have been around the same age as O’Mahony then?
I probably came in with the likes of Jerry Flannery. We were a little younger coming into the squad and we wanted to get involved straight away. We tried really hard to make the first XV, we had a massive desire. If you are good enough you are old enough. As well as Pete there is the likes of Paddy Butler, Dave O’Callaghan, Mike Sherry, young Archer, Conor Murray who has played for Ireland already: there is loads of ability there. It will take a little patience from everyone, but they will be there or there abouts in the coming years.
Do Munster need alot of patience form fans?
It would be very unfair to expect these young guys to come in and replace a team that has been together for ten years plus. It is hard to replace the likes of John Hayes, David Wallace and Jerry Flannery. It is going to take time and a lot of learning from their point of view, but down the road there will be good times ahead.
Did you ppeak with Jerry or Wally about retirement?
I knew the boys were going through the same and I spoke to them during the period of my injury. They have been a great help and have advised me on how to go through the process and what lies in front of me. We are leaving Munster and we are not teammates any more, but I think the friendship and camaraderie will continue into the years hopefully. We’ll always have someone to lean on no matter where we go.
I had a conversation with Ant and Colm the physios. Colm has been walking with me, he has been my sidekick for the last six months and has been working with me day in day out. They were very honest with me and they probably started to see the signs of deterioration and the joint not getting better. We sat down about where my future was and how well I was going to get. Then seeing the surgeon last Thursday (Richard Viller in Cambridge) just backed up their assessment. He is based in Cambridge and is a very highly thought of hip surgeon. He did the surgery. We were under no illusions at that stage that it would be a difficult injury. I have had knee injuries in the past and they have proved quite difficult at different stages but I managed to get back playing but this didn’t come right they way I hoped it would. With any injury you are hoping for progression and an upward curve all the way. I progressed to a point but then I just plateaued.
I saw him in Cambridge. You always hold out five percent of hope, but I knew myself that it would be difficult after speaking to the physios. There is always the hope he had some different opinion on it, but just speaking to him and the advise he gave me about my life down the line it was really an easy decision in many ways.
What does the future hold for you?
For the foreseeable future I am just going to take a break for a month or two and just try and let things settle. I want to try and make a decision with a clear mind. But I am from a farming background so i’d like to do something there. I’d like to stay in the game in some shape or form, I don’t know if that’s be club level or junior level, but the game has given me a lot and it would be wrong to walk away just now. I’ll stay in the game in some shape or form, but probably not the professional game.
Will you get straight back to farming?
It is a good thing I don’t own a farm right now. Down the line you couldn’t take a break at any stage. But I am from a farming background and I love the country side and I love that side of things.
What about Cashel winning club of the year?
I am from Cashel originally and the club is on the crest of a wave at the moment and it is going really well. There is a massive community effort in there. The club means a lot to me as well. I’ll always have a place to go in there and watch rugby and help out in any way I can.
Will you turn your attention to the Tipperary hurlers now?
You get time to do a lot more things. Definitely of a professional rugby player is one that you are always looking at the game, the next training, you are watching your diet and your sleep. Everything is designed towards training and playing and to optimise your ability. Now that is gone I am a little bit more freer to do what I enjoy.
What, if any, advice would you give to Rob Penney?
I think as a coach it is a great environment to be around. There is some very special people involved in the club and it gives you a great grounding and a great ethic in work rate and how you are seen. It gives you great values and it is a great place to learn things. There is a lot of good thing going for Munster Rugby. There is negativity around at the moment but there is so many things going for Munster they’ll definitely bounce back.
How hard do you think it is going to be and how much will you miss the game?
To be honest I have hated going, I haven’t enjoyed watching the boys. To be honest it is not something that I…you nearly end up detaching your emotions form it, you a numb in many ways. I find it very difficult to watch them playing and going into the dressing room afterwards. You’d love to be there afterwards and helping out. It is a funny enough emotion to be dealing with. It is difficult.
The lads had a bit of a going away thing for the lads the last day. I hadn’t finalised my decision and just to see these lads and what it meant to them to play for Munster. The words they said, it was great. They summed up for everyone in the room what it was like to play for Munster, it was truly an honour.
Quotes for this piece were supplied by John Fallon of Media West (Ireland)
