The welfare of rugby union players has never been more at the forefront of the sport. World Rugby are currently negotiating a rugby calendar in order to try and cut down on the ridiculous over packed nature of the calendar right now. One man who has felt the strain is Alex Corbisiero who's taken a year out of the game and may not return to England.
The 28 year old decided in December last year to take a year out of the game. After years of service to London Irish, Northampton Saints and England he needed time to heal the aches and pains he'd been feeling. His future was put into doubt when Saints terminated his contract not long after making the decision to take a year out. With that year nearly up the 19 time capped England player has had offers for a return.
However talking to The Telegraph the prop forward revealed that his time away has been so good to him that there's every possibility he won't be returning to play in England. In the interview he spoke about his lack of pain and his new job working for NBC as a pundit now that the American station are showing rugby in his country of birth saying:
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"For the last three four years of my career there was always some form of ailment or injury to manage...My aches and pains are non existent now.
It depends on how this year with NBC goes. If it goes well and there are further opportunities then I probably won't play in the Premiership or England again. If it was not for the opportunity I received through NBC I would definitely be playing very soon.
I was speaking to a few clubs with a view to possibly playing by November or January. But the NBC role was just a dream scenario for me. There are opportunities if I want to play. I could probably stay in the higher end of the game for another three or four years but I know at the end of those four years I would be very beaten up."
Corbs is back in his home country, having been born in New York before moving to England aged four, believes that the US could fall in love with rugby helped by the new five team league, PRO Rugby, but more so by exposure to European rugby union through NBC and helped by Saracens match with London Irish last season: "I really think rugby can appeal to American audiences. It is not stop start. There are not tonnes of ad breaks. It flows. That's why the Premier League has been successful because they like the flow and the way the action goes from end to end. Also rugby has got the contact element, the physicality and the big hits of the NFL as well as the competitiveness of the league."
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Once one of the best props in the world Corbisiero was one of the best players as the Lions won their series in Australia three and a half years ago. It would be interesting if he ever came back to England but he may well do more good for himself and the sport by staying stateside.
(Via The Telegraph)
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