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Wallabies centre forced into retirement

Anthony Fainga'a of the Wallabies. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Severe ongoing concussions have forced another international star to hang up his boots.

According to Rugbycomau, Australia international Anthony Fainga’a has called an end to his rugby career due to concussions.

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The extent of the concussions were so severe that Fainga’a had to be held up at the altar during his twin brother’s (fellow Wallabies representative Saia) wedding.

The centre played 23 Tests for the Wallabies and was a member of the Reds’ Super Rugby championship-winning team in 2011.

The Fainga’a twins celebrate winning the 2011 Super Rugby title. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Fainga’a, who is set to move back to Brisbane, has been playing in Japan for the past three seasons.

The 32-year-old revealed said he had opportunities to continue in the sport but had made the right call.

Fainga’a suffered several head knocks during his playing career, including one during the 2011 Rugby World Cup, where he was taken from the field after losing consciousness for more than a minute.

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“I’m probably only one more head knock away from being a vegetable or not being able to play with my kids,” Fainga’a told Fox Sports News.

“After a couple of really big head knocks, I had to make a big decision,” Fainga’a said, recalling an occasion more than two years ago when he realised the effect concussions were having on his health.

“In 2016, my twin brother got married and at the altar, I was actually getting held up because of the head knocks.

“I received a couple of really big head knocks over my career and I was standing at the altar getting held up, I got walked out by someone.

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“I got a few head knocks last year and after all these head knocks I had to make a decision, make a choice about what I wanted to do with my future.

“I love the rugby game so much but I needed to look after my mental health.”

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J
JW 2 hours ago
How the four-team format will help the Wallabies defeat the Lions

Have to imagine it was a one off sorta thing were they were there (saying playing against the best private schools) because that is the level they could play at. I think I got carried away and misintrepted what you were saying, or maybe it was just that I thought it was something that should be brought in.


Of course now school is seen as so much more important, and sports as much more important to schooling, that those rural/public gets get these scholarships/free entry to play at private schools.


This might only be relevant in the tradition private rugby schools, so not worth implementing, but the same drain has been seen in NZ to the point where the public schools are not just impacted by the lost of their best talent to private schools, there is a whole flow on effect of losing players to other sports their school can' still compete at the highest levels in, and staff quality etc. So now and of that traditional sort of rivalry is near lost as I understand it.


The idea to force the top level competition into having equal public school participation would be someway to 'force' that neglect into reverse. The problem with such a simple idea is of course that if good rugby talent decides to stay put in order to get easier exposure, they suffer academically on principle. I wonder if a kid who say got selected for a school rep 1st/2nd team before being scouted by a private school, or even just say had two or three years there, could choose to rep their old school for some of their rugby still?


Like say a new Cup style comp throughout the season, kid's playing for the private school in their own local/private school grade comp or whatever, but when its Cup games they switch back? Better represent, areas, get more 2nd players switching back for top level 1st comp at their old school etc? Just even in order to have cool stories where Ella or Barrett brothers all switch back to show their old school is actually the best of the best?

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