Ed Jenkins forced to retire on medical grounds

Former Australia Sevens team captain Ed Jenkins has announced his decision to retire from professional rugby with immediate effect following a shoulder injury.

The 31-year-old has been one of the longest-serving player for Australia in the Sevens format and is also a silver medalist during the sevens tournament in 2010 Commonwealth Games. He led the team to win the cup in the Tokyo leg of HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in 2012.

Jenkins, who captained the Australia Sevens between 2011 and 2016 also led them to the Gold in the Cup Final in 2012 during the Japan Sevens tournament and was also part of the 2016 Rio Olympics squad

."It's been tough,” he told RUGBY.com.au.

"I’ve been doing this for 14 years, playing rugby professionally and 10 years with the Sevens.

"So to be told you can't - to wake up one day and someone tells you that you can't do it anymore - it's scary but at the same time, there's a new chapter in my life about to start.

"So it’s sad in one aspect but exciting looking further ahead."

Shook by disbelief, Jenkins headed to Brisbane last week for a second opinion on his shoulder and the outcome brought him to a sad reality and he is set to undergo a surgery next month.

"I saw a specialist down here in Sydney and as much as I respected his opinion I just knew that I had to get a second opinion just to make sure I was making the right decision with retirement," he said.

"He (the Queensland specialist) just rammed it home and said there's no way I could be playing anymore.

"Even to just rehab it and play one last tournament would be crazy or to play after I get this final op, would be madness as well."

Jenkins also admitted that he became quite "emotional" in letting his team-mates know about his decision to step down from the game

"I went into training on Friday morning and broke the news to the boys and it's probably one of the toughest things I've had to do,” he said.

"I've played with some of those guys for a long time now and to go in there and have to tell them that you're retiring, you won't be ever playing or putting that jersey on again was really tough.

"It was quite emotional."

The Australia Sevens side will face USA, Canada and Scotland in the Sydney leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series that runs from 26th to 28th January.