Former Australian Men's Sevens captain Ed Jenkins has been forced to retire from the game at the age of 31 because of a shoulder injury.
He made the decision after advice from surgeons who warned him that continuing to play would be a bad idea for his health and wellbeing.
The well-respected Jenkins has won over 50 Sevens caps for his country, scoring 547 points in an impressive career on the Sevens circuit.
“It's been tough,” he told rugby.com.au.
“I’ve been doing this for 14 years, playing rugby professionally and 10 years with the Sevens.
“So to be told you can't – to wake up one day and someone tells you that you can't do it anymore – it's scary but at the same time, there's a new chapter in my life about to start.
“So it’s sad in one aspect but exciting looking further ahead.”
Jenkins, who is set for surgery, added that it was an emotional moment when he told his team-mates he would not be playing this season.
“I went into training on Friday morning and broke the news to the boys and it's probably one of the toughest things I've had to do,” he said.
“I've played with some of those guys for a long time now and to go in there and have to tell them that you're retiring, you won't be ever playing or putting that jersey on again was really tough.
“It was quite emotional.”
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