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Veteran Waratahs hooker Damien Fitzpatrick hooker announces retirement

By Online Editors
(Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)

After a career spanning more than a decade in sky blue, NSW Waratahs hooker, Damien Fitzpatrick has officially announced his retirement from professional rugby.

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Contracted until the end of the original 2020 Super Rugby season, Fitzpatrick has decided that the time is right for him to step aside and begin the transition into life post rugby, calling time on a career that began in at the Waratahs in 2008.

NSWRU general manager of rugby, Tim Rapp said that Fitzpatrick’s selfless decision would allow the next generation of Waratahs to begin their transition into professional rugby.

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“There’s no doubting Fitzy has the ability to compete at this level and continuing playing, we’ve seen the contribution he’s made over the last few seasons since returning from France,” Rapp said.

“The positive influence he’s had on his teammates and the way he’s led and encouraged our younger players has been invaluable to the collective growth of our group”

“He’s an impressive character who has overcome plenty of adversity to forge a fantastic career, and I know he excited to sink his teeth into life post rugby and develop his health business, which we’re already proud to have an association with here at NSW Rugby.”

Fitzpatrick will focus his immediate attention toward his own venture, Bondi Vite – a vitamin and wellness company – that already well-established in Australia and Asia, coming on board as an official supplier of NSW Rugby’s Super Rugby, Super W and Academy programs in early-2020.

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The 73-cap Waratah said that while it was an emotional decision to bring an end to his career now, the timing was right and in the best interest of the Waratahs and the young hookers within the squad.

“Entering into this Super Rugby season, I was treating it as though there was a high possibility it would be my last. Ideally, it would have been nice to play out a regular season and sign off that way before finishing but that’s life.” Fitzpatrick said.

“With all that has transpired with this pandemic [COVID-19] and the nature of my contract period, I felt it was appropriate to call stumps on my playing time. I am excited about what lies ahead for me personally and I think the timing will benefit the team and organisation. It will give an opportunity to our younger hookers to show off their talents and allow the Waratahs to prepare for the future.

“Throughout the backend of my career, I have been balancing a number of things outside of rugby. This COVID period has provided me with a semi soft landing as to what life after rugby might look like. While obviously a little scared, I am also really excited to focus all my energy into what lies ahead.”

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“There is no doubt I am going miss playing rugby, the constant competing, being around team mates, great staff, touring, the list is endless. I owe so much to this organisation and this sport.

“Having the opportunity to be a Waratah and represent my home state of New South Wales is one of the great privileges of my life. I have shared the field with some of the greatest Waratahs in history and learnt and forged friendships with so many great people along the way.

“I want to take the opportunity to thank the NSW Waratahs and our supporters wholeheartedly.”

Fitzpatrick will continue in his role as President of the Rugby Union Players Association (RUPA) until the end of July when he’ll officially step down from the role he began in early-2018.

NSW Waratahs head coach, Rob Penney was full of praise for the departing hooker.

“I’ve only been here for a short period, but Damien has been such an excellent contributor to our squad,” Penney said.

“He’s been an active part of our leadership group, imparting his experience and knowledge to our younger guys, and his ability to bring people together in a team environment is first class.”

– Waratahs Rugby

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Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

36 Go to comments
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Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

36 Go to comments
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