NZ Rugby player association CEO Rob Nichol spoke to Mike Hosking and believes some players could be forced to step away from the game and return to a more semi-professional model.
The current coronavirus pandemic has decimated rugby and other sports competitions across the world, leaving many suspended, postponed or even cancelled.
In rugby, some leagues across the world have not yet cancelled, and are discussing possible truncated seasons, while others have packed it in already.
One consequence of leagues being potentially terminated is that it will finish the careers of some players, robbing them of the chance of playing their final match. It may be insignificant in the broad scheme of things, but it is nonetheless disappointing from a rugby perspective.
Here are some of the players who may have played their final game of professional rugby, including several long-time All Blacks stars.
Kieran Read
Kieran Read may have played his last game of professional rugby. Photo / Getty
The former All Blacks captain has a contract in Japan with Toyota Verblitz until 2021, but he has said that he does not know what the future holds for him.
The Top League season in Japan has already been cancelled for 2020, and the 128-cap All Black has been coy on whether he will be there next season, accepting that his professional career could be over.
"I am contracted for next year in Japan and I guess we'll just wait and see what happens with this virus. If it's all gone out of the world and people are travelling around then potentially I could be back up there," Read told Jim Kayes.
Kieran Read and Dan Carter may not return to Japan. Photo / Getty
Having recently made his return to rugby in January after neck surgery in 2019, Carter was set to complete his second and final season with Top League champions, the Kobelco Steelers. Now at the age of 38, Carter will want to make up for lost time after his injury, but he is without a club ahead of next year, and has not confirmed whether he will continue playing or not.
Ma'a Nonu
Ma'a Nonu played his last game in New Zealand last year. Photo / Photosport
On the other side of the world, Major League Rugby in the United States was also cancelled last month. This was a season that saw a number of global stars join the league, one of which was two-time RWC winner Nonu, who had joined the San Diego Legion. The 37-year-old centre has been winding his career down for a couple of years now, but this one-year deal on the West Coast looked as though it could have been his final destination before retirement.
Ben Franks
Ben Franks. Photo / Photosport
The two-time World Cup winning prop announced his retirement in February after joining Northampton Saints in 2018. He played in the Saints' final match before the suspension, coming off the bench in a win over Worcester Warriors in the beginning of March, which could be something of a damp squib of a final match.
Tendai Mtawarira
Springboks great Mtawarira finds himself in a very similar situation to Nonu after joining Old Glory DC following South Africa's World Cup success. The Beast also signed a one-year deal, and now the 34-year-old's career has been thrown into doubt despite the new season only being a matter of weeks old before it was abandoned.
Francois Louw
Springboks flanker Louw announced his retirement from test rugby shortly after the Rugby World Cup triumph, but only announced in March his complete retirement from the game at the end of the season. Bath have not played a game since the 34-year-old broke the news, but at least he will have fond memories of his final season should he not get a chance to run out for Bath again.
Matt Giteau
Former Wallaby Giteau is in a similar position to Read, and has already admitted that it is "hard to imagine" he may have played his last game for Suntory Sungoliath, and in turn the last game of his professional career.
Hard to imagine that I may have played my last game in Japan for @sungoliath because of #coronavirus .. Sad situation but the right choice has been made as health & safety must always come first 🙏🏼😢
The 37-year-old has had a long and distinguished career, amassing 103 caps, but retirement is an increasing possibility for a player that seemed to be eternal.
David Pocock
Will David Pocock keep playing? Photo / Photosport
Like Carter, Pocock is another player that has not given any details about his future, and at 31, he may still have more miles in the clock. However, this was the final season of his contract with the Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan, and given the stress his body has been put under throughout his career, no one would blame the flanker for hanging up his boots early.
Sergio Parisse
The rugby world dreams that the Italian legend will be granted his 143rd and final cap at some point. Unfortunately, the 36-year-old was deprived of his swansong against the All Blacks at the World Cup because of Typhoon Hagibis. He was expected to make a solitary appearance this Six Nations against England in Rome on the final day of the Championship, but that has been postponed once again. No player deserves more of a send-off in test rugby, but it is unclear if the No 8 will get that chance.
James Hook
The former Wales utility back announced in January that he would retire from rugby at the end of the season, but has now been forced to rearrange his testimonial given the circumstances. For one of the best Welsh players of his generation, many will hope that his career will not go out with a whimper, and he will have a chance to play in front of the Ospreys fans again.
While Robshaw will still be playing rugby next season, and he would have accepted in the summer of 2019 that his England career was over, he may not get the farewell he and all Harlequins fans would want. The flanker is set to join Rugby United New York at the end of the season, but after making over 250 appearances for the London club since his debut in 2005, and after captaining them to their greatest victories, he may not go out in a blaze of glory.
This article first appeared on RugbyPass.com and is republished with permission.
