Aberdeen Grammar stalwart Doug Russell insists the time is right as he prepares to call time on his rugby career.
The 30-year-old winger will bring the curtain down on a 20-year association with the Rubislaw club when he makes his final appearance for the club at Watsonian tomorrow.
Russell considers himself fortunate to have played the game for two decades largely unscathed – but with a young family his priorities have changed.
He said: “My body feels fine, but I’ve got a six-month-old and it’s time to focus on my family.
“It’s a big commitment to train twice a week and travel nationally.
“I’ve been quite lucky not to have suffered any serious injuries in my time, so I’ve played a lot rugby and the time is right to hang up the boots.
“I could have kept going, but I don’t want to be one of those guys who is forced to retire because they are knackered.
“It only takes one injury and I can’t do things with my son.
“I didn’t want to be a decrepit old rugby player.
“As much as I’m going to miss it, it’s not fair on my family or the other guys at the club if I’m not training week in, week out and expecting to play.”
Cup win the crowning achievement
Russell has seen it all in his time at Rubislaw,, but he is in no doubt what the highlight was of his career.
He said: “I’ve been with the club at youth level since 2003.
“The massive highlight for me was winning the National Cup in 2019.
“That will stick out for me, as I don’t think too many Grammar teams have been able to brag about silverware over the years. It was a big accomplishment.”
Covid has been challenging for Grammar
Russell will depart Rubislaw with the club heading for National Three after back-to-back relegation for Grammar.
He admits the last two years have been challenging for his club and believes the pandemic has hit hard at Rubislaw.
He said: “It has been really tough post-Covid.
“We won the cup in the 2018-19 season and Covid came towards the end of the following campaign.
“At that time we had a very strong, experienced team with guys who had played together for years.
“Covid then hit and we got older, some guys moved away and others had kids.
“Due to the introduction of hybrid working, we’re not seeing the same number of people moving to Aberdeen.
“We don’t have the same youth level at under-15 and under-18 level really coming through and it is still a big issue.
“Rugby just doesn’t compare to football in the north-east in terms of numbers so it is going to be a struggle going forward.
“But there’s a close-knit group of guys at the club which is good. At Aberdeen Grammar you need to be available week in, week out as we don’t have the player pool.
“I feel we rely on the commitment of players more than any other club in Scotland.
“We don’t have third XVs here and we struggle to field a second XV at times, so it is tough.
“It’s not nice to be relegated, but the silver lining is that we’ll be able to regroup and compete at that level.”
Russell dreaming of fairytale farewell in Edinburgh
A trip to Edinburgh awaits Russell on his final appearance for the club and he hopes he can sign off on a winning note in his final appearance at Watsonian.
Russell said: “In terms of winnable games, this one is very much in that category. They are one place above us in the league and I’d like to think going down there we’ve got a chance.
“Last week we were up 20-10 and doing well, much like the previous game against Highland, and had a collapse around the 60-minute mark.
“It’s about getting the complete 80-minute performance. For us, it’s all about putting the pieces together and hopefully that happens on Saturday.
“I won’t have a better chance of going out with a win on Saturday and that’s all the motivation I need.”
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