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Israel Dagg's heartfelt message for fellow professional rugby players
Former All Blacks fullback Israel Dagg has penned an open letter on social media urging players to make the most of their off-field personal development earlier in their careers in the wake of his premature retirement due to a serious knee injury.
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Thee 66-test veteran retired in April due to a persisting knee injury that hampered him for more than two years.
Dagg, who made his professional debut for Hawke’s Bay as an 18-year-old in 2006, played 25 times for the Highlanders between 2009 and 2010 and won two Super Rugby crowns with the Crusaders in 2017 and 2018, opened up about the effects of not only his ongoing injury, but also the mental health struggled with following his omission from the All Blacks ahead of their successful World Cup campaign in 2015, which he described as his “darkest time”.
“I sat in my son’s room, ate a whole packet of chocolate brownies and played PlayStation for two whole days, but now I look back on it and laugh,” Dagg said in the post published on the New Zealand Rugby Players Association’s Facebook page.
“Now that I have kids, I have better perspective and know there are heaps of people worse off than me. I have had things happen in my career and you think I am done, but the sun still comes up and you are still breathing.”
The 2011 World Cup-winner returned to the national set-up in 2016, where he shone with a string of impressive outings in the black jersey, but his first run in with his troublesome knee injury came during a Super Rugby pre-season clash between the Crusaders and Hurricanes in 2017.
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Dagg hyperextended his knee after stepping on a pothole on the field during the fixture in Waverley, before suffering a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury and a meniscus tear against the Reds in Brisbane three weeks later.
He returned to play for both the Crusaders and All Blacks, featuring in the British and Irish Lions tour that year, but his last test appearance would come against Argentina in New Plymouth that September.
The 31-year-old has since taken on a mentoring role with the Crusaders since retiring from the game midway through this year’s Super Rugby campaign, and encouraged his peers still playing professionally to make the most of their playing careers while they can, and to explore options outside for life outside of rugby as early as possible.
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“The first thing is to put yourself out there as much as you can. Don’t be shy, especially in training.
“The second is to make sure you prepare for your playing days to finish because the sooner you start to prepare, the easier it is manage when it does. I was lucky mine didn’t happen until I was 30, but you don’t know when it will happen.
“As cliché as it sounds, put your money away, be smart, buy a house, explore investments with knowledgeable experts and surround yourself with good people.
“You have these times of stress and uncertainty, but just ride it out trust your planning for life after rugby and it will work out in the end.”
Dagg played briefly in the Top League in Japan for the Canon Eagles at the end of 2018 in a bid to fulfil one of his career goals of playing professionally overseas, but his stint abroad was cut short due to his knee injury.
“I played a few games [in Japan] and in my final game it was so sore I couldn’t even kick the ball. My knee was unbearable. I was in a deep black hole after that game,” he said.
“I had a meeting with my club to keep them in the loop, then I flew back to New Zealand to seek medical advice. In the back of my mind, I was thinking ‘I can’t keep doing this’.
“Knowing what I had been able to do in previous years and knowing that I couldn’t get back to that made me come to the conclusion that it was time to start thinking about retiring.”
He went on to describe how he struggled with the prospect of retirement last summer, but is now flourishing in his new role with the Crusaders and as a television pundit.
“My wife, Daisy was a rock. I was a big, lazy, sad sack, and as we know when you are mentally struggling, you need to be exercising and connecting, but it was a battle. But we have come through it and I think she is back to liking me again!”
He continued: “If there was one thing I could change, it would be to make the most of Personal Development right from when I entered into the environment. My attitude towards Personal Development when I first started was, “I don’t need that, what a waste of time, there are way better things I can do with my time like have lunch and shop.”
“Even though I started playing in 2006, it wasn’t until 2012 that I got serious about Personal Development. I had a good support network with a good agent, lawyer and accountant, but I met a businessman who became my mentor and inspired me to expand myself more.
“I thought by just having a house – which I bought in 2010 – I was made, but he steered me in the right direction and gave me some tools to set me up. We have since become good friends.
“It is great to have mentors and advisors outside of the rugby circle. This is why I try and tell the lads to make the most of it because when it is over it is over. You have a great opportunity to gain tools and meets some great people so make the most of it.”
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Exeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
29 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
29 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
29 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
11 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
11 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
11 Go to comments