At the end of this month it will be a year since Wallaby no. 847 and Brumbies’ back Pat McCabe confirmed his retirement from professional rugby union.
A tough call for any player, but after fracturing his vertebrae in the Wallabies’ second Bledisloe Cup Test at Eden Park in 2014, the third similar injury in as many years, it was one that had to be made.
Sadly but understandably received by the rugby public at large, the news of Pat’s retirement was a reminder that rugby is about the person, wellbeing, life, family and team, as much as it is about the results, statistics and performances.
Now, 12 months on, Pat finds himself emerging from a productive stint of work experience ready to progress onto the next chapter of his career.
“When I retired I had a year to run on my contract and the Brumbies were great in giving me the opportunity to work in their commercial team over that period of time to get some work experience,” Pat said.
“I’ve been doing a whole range of things, from working in the marketing and sponsorship team to acquisition and charity work.
“I also did some ground announcing at the Brumbies’ home games. It provided an opportunity to take a free shot at the players when they had no right of reply, so that was a fair bit of fun. I did a bit of media stuff too, which was also quite good.”
The Brumbies have provided Pat with unequivocal support during a time that is considered one of the most difficult for athletes, transitioning out of a professional career in sport.
“It’s been great. It’s been a lot more manageable transition being able to take a half step into a real workplace.
“I’ve been with the team six years, so taking up a spot in the commercial team there was less than the shock that it might have been had I jumped into other offers.
“I knew that I had about a year to go on my uni degree so it felt like a pretty natural progression.”
Pat is now planning on tackling the next step of his career with the same do-or-die attitude that defined his rugby.
“I’m just going to throw myself into it, and if I like it, I like it, if I don’t, it’s not the end of the world and I’ll try something else,” Pat said.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do next. I’m still working on that process.
“A couple of people have said to me to do what you love to do.
“There’s no way I can say right now that’s definitely what I want to do, or that’s definitely my dream job, I have to work it out as I go.
“I guess it’s just about trying things, it’s really easy to speculate about what a job might be, but until you’re actually in it you really have no idea of what the day-to-day of it actually feels like.
“Having done the law degree I’m pretty excited about getting admitted as a lawyer and to at least have that option and see whether that’s something that appeals to me.”
Pat is currently in his final year of a Bachelor of Commerce and Law through the University of Southern Queensland. He has spent the majority of his rugby playing years juggling the demands of professional rugby with hard-core study, but believes it has all been worth it.
“To have to start a five year degree after I finished playing would have been a really daunting prospect. However having already done four years of my degree, I’m already in front,” Pat said.
“It would have been ideal to finish it before I stopped playing, but to have a degree well and truly on the way just provided a high degree of reassurance and a lot of direction in terms of possibilities for when I stop playing.
“I think if I had stopped my degree, whilst it wouldn’t have been the end of the world, it wouldn’t have offered as many opportunities to plan for other things,” Pat said.
Like most professional rugby players, Pat experienced many opportunities to network and participate in charity initiatives. Still high in demand, Pat has spent the last three Wednesday's willingly driving himself up to Sydney and back for a range of associated events he's been requested to attend.
An Ambassador for Hearts in Union, Special Olympics ACT and Osteoperosis Australia, Pat’s strength of character on the field is matched by his benevolent charisma off it.
“That’s one of the real gifts of rugby. I really enjoy that part of it,” Pat said of the charity side of rugby.
“I’m also lucky enough to be a Director of Snowy Hydro SouthCare, which is an aeromedical service, servicing the ACT and the wider region, and a Director of the ARU Foundation, which is going to be developed to help a number of areas in the wider rugby community."
