Scotland flanker Denton announces rugby retirement

David Denton says he will look back at his career with pride after announcing his retirement from rugby.

The most-recent of Denton’s 42 Tests for Scotland came against Argentina last summer, while he made 21 appearances in the Championship during his seven-year international career.

But the 29-year-old back-rower has been advised to bow out on medical grounds after sustaining a concussion while playing for Leicester Tigers last October.

The marauding flanker also played for Edinburgh, Bath and Worcester Warriors during his career and sees having his future decided following months of uncertainty as a positive.

“My actual reaction at the time my neurologist told me it was no longer a good idea to play rugby, to be honest there was a bit of relief,” explained Denton. “This had been building up inside of me for four to five months.

“I knew there was a strong possibility that this moment (when I had to retire) was coming.

“By the time I got to it, I had been through all the emotional highs and lows, so I was prepared for it.

“Since I was 14 or 15 my identity has been forged around being a sportsman, a rugby player. Now, at the age of 29, a few years before I expected, the circumstances have changed.

“The big thing for me going forward is that I do not want to look back in sadness.”

Rather than rugby coaching, Denton envisages a future as part of the business world and the Scot – who has a ten-month-old son Logan with his fiancée Shelley – is excited by his next challenge.

“I want to get into the corporate world,” he added. “Coaching, as a career, was never something that appealed to me. I’m really excited for the next steps in my life.

“As a rugby player, the thing I have valued most is how I’m seen and how I’m valued by an organisation. I was happy to take less money from an organisation where I was more valued.

“Again, as a player, there’s the adrenaline rush you get from running out every Friday or Saturday and even the days leading up to that.

“You run out to fireworks and flames. Now I have to look at the transition where things do not move as quickly as that.”

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Source: 6 Nations