Former Leinster second-row Hayden Triggs has explained his decision to walk away from the game.
The towering Kiwi hung up his boots at the end of the season, but said it was an easy decision to call it a day, as the fire that burned within him to play the game professionally dimmed considerably.
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Although his love for the province and Ireland remains, Triggs said the time was right to find a new challenge.
"I'd fallen a little bit out of love with it," he told the Today programme on RTÉ Radio 1.
"I've been doing it for quite a while now, nearly 15 years of trying to ply my trade, get paid and do the best that I can every single day. I'm ready for a new challenge. I was in the pro game for 13 years.
"Amateur players in my opinion play for the love, they play for the craic, for the club or jersey they're representing. I was fortunate to be involved with St Mary's this year... they kind of put me back into why I started playing rugby.
"I'm not bashing professional rugby. It's given me a beautiful opportunity and things I never ever dreamed I would do. I've met some beautiful people through the game.
"I'm not saying professional rugby isn’t great and isn’t a great lifestyle, but I have three kids now with another one on the way, I’ve a beautiful wife that has followed me, whenever I said 'it’s time to go', without so much of a grumble. I’ve had enough of dragging them around.
"Game day is why I continued to play for as long as I did. We put 25, 30 hours into preparing for that 80 minutes. That's the fun part. That's the bit you love.
"We're modern day gladiators. Look at me. I'm intimidating. This what I was bred to be and in all fairness, inside that's not what we're like. I went to Justin Bieber last night! I went with my daughter. We rocked out. We had a good time. We're not what we seem."
Listen to the full interview below.
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