England Rugby World Cup champion Ben Cohen has revealed that he sold his winner’s medal to survive financial struggles during Covid-19.
The winger played 57 tests for England, including starting in the 2003 final victory over Australia in Sydney. He also played two tour matches for the British and Irish Lions in 2001.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Cohen opened up about his post-career struggles.
“It meant everything, winning a World Cup,” he said. “The bigger issue for me was that I just didn’t get a skill set or a life skill, and now I think, well, OK, winning a World Cup doesn’t really bring me anything. It’s not like it’s a degree, you know.
“I probably wish I’d got a skill set and a steady job. Then I probably would have looked the other way and thought ‘I wish I could have been a sportsman’. But the reality is I would probably rather have been over [on that other side], because it’s going to suit me for the rest of my life, instead of a portion of my life. When you sort of get [to retirement] you think: ‘I’m in my 30s, who am I?’ And at that point you think, I am lonely here, this is sink or swim.”