David Corkery on leaving rugby behind and Johnny Sexton's status as Ireland's greatest player

THERE are many ways that the word retirement can be defined and it really depends on someone’s background as to which one is appropriate for them.

For those who make a living from sport, it is slightly different as they are normally very young when they opt out and it can be a very lonely and scary place. One minute you’re the best in what you do and the next you start all over again on the first rung of the ladder.

Having had to retire from the game at the age of 27 myself due to rupturing both my Achilles I was as prepared for the real world as a stray dog would have been sitting an exam. 

You think that everything will be ok and that life will just take a bit of time to readjust itself. For someone who knows nothing else but existing in a very surreal bubble where your every move is defined by schedule, it isn't long until you realise that a very large portion of what defines you as a person is gone forever. 

And no matter how hard you try, you will never be able to replicate the same environment or feeling that playing sport for a living gives you.

Thankfully things have changed drastically since my days and the players of today are somewhat better prepared for the next chapter.

With Johnny Sexton, Keith Earls and, possibly, Peter O’Mahony, deciding that the time to hang their boots up is now, Munster, Leinster and Irish rugby as a whole is in a much weaker position.

All three have had stellar careers and it is only right that they are afforded the privilege of retiring on their own terms. To think that this trio have all represented their country over a hundred times and are still in one piece is a credit to how they conducted themselves off the field and to the sacrifices they made. 

When you play in the uncompromising and cut-throat world of professional rugby, having the capacity to remain seaworthy through hundreds of games for province and country has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with sacrifice and commitment.

For this trio of legends, the loss to New Zealand over a week ago was a very bitter pill to swallow. With Earls not even making the bench, his decision to make way was probably cemented as soon as he listened to Andy Farrell call out the match-day 23.

DESTINY

Born and reared in Limerick, Earls was always destined to play for Munster and with his dad Ger guiding him through the highs and lows of his teenage years, it didn’t take long for Keith’s determination and skill set to shine through and make him the man he has become. Humble and grateful for the opportunities that rugby provided him, Keith Earls must be retained within the game so others can understand that through stubborn resilience and hard work, nothing is impossible.

Everyone’s journey to their retirement day takes them on a different pathway and with Johnny Sexton everyone was aware that his last appearance as a professional player was going to happen during this year’s World Cup.

Having won everything that northern hemisphere rugby puts up for grabs, Sexton only had one more goal to achieve and that was to raise aloft the William Webb Ellis trophy on the 28th of this month. 

Sadly we all now know this dream will remain just that, but if there was one man who truly believed that it was going to happen, it was Sexton.

Often criticised for his outspoken mannerism, Sexton was just one of those players who could not accept losing.

From the day he stood over Ronan O’Gara way back in 2009 and started what has turned out to be a fractious relationship, right up to the defeat to New Zealand, Sexton has never once wavered from the belief that he was the best player in the world. This may sound somewhat pompous but when there are so many people out there just waiting to criticise your every move, it is imperative that you 100% believe that everything you do is correct, whether it works out or not.

ICONIC

Is he the greatest ever Irish player? 

I’ll let you decide, but as a four-time Heineken Champions Cup winner, a six-time Pro14/URC champion, a four-time Six Nations victor, a two-time Grand Slam winner, Ireland’s record points-scorer, the Six Nations’ top points-scorer, a Test centurion, a two-time British & Irish Lion and the 2018 World Rugby Player of the Year, it would be hard to argue against.

Whether or not Peter O’Mahony calls it a day is still in the balance, but if he does, I wish all three the very best and thank them for all the great days they gave us.