Former All black Dillon Hunt has been forced to retire from professional rugby at the age of 26 due to an ongoing battle with concussion symptoms.
Hunt - who played in one Test for New Zealand - has taken a number of knocks to his head throughout his six-year professional career, with his most recent coming whilst playing for North Harbour against Bay of Plenty in the 2020 NPC.
This blow to the head came just eight weeks after he had taken another knock against Waikato, and this continuous damage has led to persisting concussion symptoms throughout the last 12 months.
Hunt revealed all regarding his retirement in an interview with the New Zealand Herald, commenting: “I’ve decided to retire because of these concussions. I have to give it away. It’s just not worth it for me anymore.
“One particular crash I had with my symptoms I thought I can’t be risking this or going back to something that could make all the symptoms worse again. I was just too vulnerable.”
During his interview the 26-year-old discussed the severe symptoms that have hampered both his rugby, and everyday life, admitting at times he was unable to ‘handle any sort of noise or light’.
“At its worst it’s headaches, just being in a complete fog where you can’t think. You can’t handle any sort of noise or light. The fog doesn’t really leave,” added Hunt.
“The specialists were all pretty supportive so that decision had to be made, really.”
Concussion problems within New Zealand rugby has been a hot topic in recent weeks, after former All Blacks prop Carl Hayman joined a lawsuit against World Rugby after being diagnosed with early onset dementia at just 41.
Hayman represented his nation between 2001 and 2007, and also played for English Premiership side Newcastle Falcons for three years during his 17-year long career, and believes his diagnosis is linked to the number of concussion blows he took during his time on the Rugby field.
It is clear Hunt is looking to avoid similar long term damage, especially after suffering longer-lasting symptoms over the past year.
He commented: “I’d be looking at about 10 concussions [throughout his career] but there’s also thousands of other reasonable knocks. I was always weary of it.
“I had it in the back of my mind that it’s not good to be getting concussion after concussion but I always recovered pretty quickly prior to last year so I carried on until I wasn’t able to carry on.”
Despite his playing career cut short, the 26-year-old still revealed he was more than proud with the achievements he has already earned, and is looking forward to what comes next.
Hunt added: “There’s a lot of things to look forward to outside of rugby but I’m pretty stoked with what I managed to achieve in that time.
“There’s a lot of things I would’ve liked to have done – playing for the Blues, winning a Premiership with Harbour. But there’s plenty to look back on and be proud of.
“It’s pretty unique work and a lot of cool memories so I’ve still got those to hold on to.”
