Rugby analyst Brent Pope has revealed that he has lost almost two stone due to a mystery illness and is 'in pain every day'.
The popular New Zealand native admitted it has been a very tough year for him physically.
He said: "I’ve been suffering physically for the past year."
Pope added that he seems to be “going for tests every week” and believes “there’s something going on” with his heath.
He told Newstalk’s The Hard Shoulder: “I’ve got systematic problems, anything from sort of GI problems, my gastro is all ulcerated and enflamed, I’ve lost nearly two stone - I’ve got twitching, I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in a year.
“I don’t tell people now that I’m going for tests.
“Something is going on, I’ve never felt this unwell for this period of time in my life - I’m in pain every day.
“I’ll be damned if I’m just going to sit around and say ‘grin and put up with up’. I’m not that kind of person, I’ve got to keep knocking on doors and trying to get help and get better.”
Meanwhile, Brent said that one of his regrets in life was not having children.
He said: "I don’t have my own family, that’s a choice, at the end of the day I’m not married and I didn’t have children and there’s a lot of regrets around that as well.
“I think for most people there are regrets, I don’t think there are many people out there who’ll say “I don’t want a family”, most people want the 2.5 kids and the barking dog - I would have loved to.”
He has been living in Ireland for almost three decades and misses being part of a big family.
His father passed away in New Zealand two years ago.
Pope added: "I never saw my father in his later years. I had never shared much of dad or my mum’s life for the last thirty years.
"They couldn’t get to know me and I couldn’t get to know them.
"Suddenly the connections weren’t as strong as I’d have loved them to be.
"I so miss not being a part of a big family.”
