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'Rugby hurts and the accumulation of wounds tells me that I have to stop,' says a pained Szarzewski
Newly-retired Dimitri Szarzewski has given a sobering insight into the punishment his body has taken during a lengthy playing career he abruptly brought to an end in recent weeks.
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The 36-year-old, who was capped 83 times by France, has told rugbyrama.fr that the pain he was suffering had become too much and it was time to get out and move into a different role at Racing 92 (he will work next season with the club’s academy).
“It will not have escaped anyone, I have not been spared from injury in recent years,” he said. “Today, my body tells me stop. Rugby, it hurts and the accumulation of wounds tells me that I have to stop.
“I had the opportunity to do some extra months but rugby causes me unbearable pain and it’s time to stop. It’s been a few weeks since I made my decision. I announced it to my team-mates during the training near Perpignan (on May 18).
“I tried to re-train on Tuesday, but in the end I had neck pain and Achilles tendon pain. At that point, you have to know how to listen to your body.
"On dit souvent sur le ton de la plaisanterie qu’on fera de vilains vieux et je pense que ce sera le cas"…
L'interview complète 👇https://t.co/r6uUQncyJY
— RUGBYRAMA (@RugbyramaFR) May 30, 2019
“Preparing for it, it’s a difficult step. I have always known rugby, it is part of my life. It’s even the most important thing for me with my family. I have been a professional since I was 18 and I only knew that.
“This is not trivial. Having discussed with other players who have stopped their career, it is a very difficult passage. It takes time,” he said before going on to list the major injuries he suffered.
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“I had seven surgeries: the right orbital, the left shoulder, the left Achilles tendon, the right ankle, the cervical, the left bicep and the right shoulder. That makes a lot!
“My body is suffering and I’m no longer in possession of all my means to continue. Even trying, even with the best of intentions, is too difficult.
💙 Merci Dimitri…
C’est au cœur du combat, au cœur du jeu que l’on reconnaît un grand capitaine & un grand joueur… Que l’histoire soit écrite avec le XV de France ou en club, il a inscrit son nom en lettre d’or dans le grand livre du rugby mondial.
🗞️ https://t.co/3UpjpuoFH1 pic.twitter.com/es4MDFWitV
— Racing 92 (@racing92) May 29, 2019
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“Even if I could continue a few more months, with my captain status it’s hard to give advice, to speak and not to set an example on the ground.
“This is not my conception of rugby. When you are a player, it is to be on the field and accompany your friends. This is no longer the case… I spend the majority of my time on the medical table and it is no longer possible.”
WATCH: Jim Hamilton visited Racing’s training ground for RugbyPass and caught up with Finn Russell
Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments