Robbo's farewell to Sharks

2:42pm Tuesday 3rd April 2007

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IT will be simple life for Jason Robinson when he finally hangs up his boots after this year's World Cup.

The 32-year-old superstar has decided to call time on a glittering career, which has seen him claim virtually every major honour in both codes of rugby.

"Fifteen years at the top is enough for anybody."

Jason Robinson

He will captain Sale in Friday's crunch match at home to Leicester before saying a final farewell to the Edgeley Park faithful the following week against Bath, set to be his 533rd appearance in professional rugby.

And after a swansong with England during September's World Cup in France, he is preparing to join John Boy on the farm for an altogether more relaxed way of life.

"I want to live like the Waltons," he said.

"I'm serious. I would like to go back to an old fashioned way of life, to have a bit of land and a couple of horses. But there's lots of things I want to do.

"I just want to move away from rugby. Family's going to be the main thing so I'm going to invest my time with my children.

"For many years now my family have been on the backburner and they've followed me from pillar to post.

"They've had me at my worst. I come home, I'm grumpy, I'm tired, I'm sore, the kids want to play and daddy can't play because he's got a bad neck.

"Fifteen years at the top is enough for anybody.

"I don't think I've made enough to live on for the rest of my life. It's not football, I'm certainly not going to be taken my private jet and flying here, there and everywhere.

"But I've certainly done well out of the game and I'll still have to do things to make a living.

"But you make adjustments as well, when you're in a certain position you live a certain lifestyle and when you're not you make adjustments.

"You don't have to have champagne and caviar everyday, there's nothing wrong with a cheese sandwich."

Although Robinson has long had his mind made up about the future, he admitted Sale's sluggishness in offering a new deal made the decision easier.

The Sharks full back had originally intended to extend his contract, which expires this summer, until 2008.

But despite his subsequent u-turn, he claimed their would be no sour grapes and no regrets.

He said: "I spoke to Philippe and Kingsley last October and they said we really want to sign you and somebody will give you a call'.

"But it was about three months after that somebody actually said to me they wanted to talk about my future.

"During that period my wife and I prayed about it because we knew my contract was coming to end and weren't sure whether to play another year or to call it a day.

"Before I actually spoke to anyone at the club I'd made my mind up.

"Initially my intention was to do one more year but, as I say, I'd had quite a bit of time to think about it. But there's a reason for everything and it might have needed that delay for me to come to the right decision.

"There's no doubt that the club wanted to keep me but sometimes if you've got something that you want you act a bit quicker to keep it. But I've got no gripes, I'm not leaving with sour grapes.

"I've no regrets, I did anything I could have done in rugby league and I feel the same thing in rugby union.

"I don't want to just keep going on and play for the sake of playing.

"How many times do people say on their deathbed I wish I spent more time at work'?

"I've been blessed that I've been able to do a job that I wanted to do for such a long time. There's got to be other things in your life that you want to do and I cannot see for one minute that I'll look back and think I wish I played another year'."

Jason Robinson stats

Rugby leagueWigan (1992-2000): 278(+8) appearances, 171 triesInternational (1993-1999): 21 appearances, 13 triesRugby unionBath (1996): 13 appearances, 5 triesSale (2000-2007): 154(+5) appearances, 46 triesEngland (2001-2007): 39(+4) appearances, 26 triesBritish Lions (2001-2005): 6(+1) appearances, 10 tries