Ian McKinley's rugby journey took another interesting twist this week when he was announced as the new backs coach at AIL club, Rainey Old Boys. Speaking with Off The Ball, he describes how the tragic death of Nevin Spence made him persevere during his toughest moment.
Having come through the ranks at Landsdowne before signing his pro forms with Leinster, McKinley's career was forever changed after just six games for the province.
During a club game for UCD against Lansdowne, the stud of a stray team-mate's boot hit his left eye. McKinley was just 21 years old when he had to retire from the sport.
Following the life-changing moment, the Dubliner decided that a change of scenery was required and a move to Italy followed.
With a new lease of life and some experience of underage coaching, what follows next is simply remarkable.
After taking tentative steps back onto the playing field, McKinley's drive, courage and love for the game would be the catalyst in a remarkable story that saw him lace up his boots once more.
Ultimately, McKinley would rise up the professional ladder and secure contracts with Guinness Pro 14 clubs Zebre and Benetton.
The crowning achievement of his carer arrived in November 2017 when he made his debut for Italy against Fiji.
McKinley would go on to earn a total of nine caps and somewhat fittingly, his last international appearance came against Ireland in August 2019 back in his native Dublin.
During a chat with OTB Sports, the 30-year-old spoke candidly about why he needed to leave Ireland for Italy.
"I wasn't a Brian O'Driscoll or one of these famous names going around. It did happen on a couple of occasions where I went to a bar and someone would say, 'I remember playing against you last year, it's such a pity. You were a great player, it's such a pity,' so after a while, that just really got to me.
"I suppose that moving over gave me a new lease of life but it was definitely difficult. I thought that if I worked triple the amount that I should, I'd just forget about that happened to me.
"It probably only hit me - the retirement and all that went on in that 18-month period - only a year and a half later. That's when I had my little, big cry with my brother. He took me under his arm and that's where the momentum shift came about finding out about these brothers," he said.
Despite his own career lows, McKinley said that the tragic death of Ulster's Nevin Spence inspired him to continue playing and to never give up, despite the injury.
"There were a couple of things, there was the unfortunate Nevin Spence family tragedy which happened six weeks after I moved to Italy. I remember getting a phone call in the middle of the night from one of my friends and he just said, 'he's dead, he's dead' and I was like 'who's dead?' and it's Nevin Spence.
"I just looked at the BBC website and there's the news. You see the picture of a companion, a guy you roomed with, a man you went to battle with on a rugby field. Seeing him and two of his family members are gone, that all stuck in the back of my mind.
"The idea that he would have given any part of his body to play for Ulster and Ireland. I think that just kicked me into gear later on saying to myself, 'Ian, you have absolutely no right to not at least give it a go. Nevin doesn't have that opportunity again. You still have your full body and while you've no vision in your left eye, but get up and give it a go.'
"I needed the tools to be able to help me with it, and my brother was able to provide that with various people. people who are a lot more skilled than the two of us, they pushed us in the right direction and with World Rugby's help, we were able to get the goggles and the rest is history."
Rainey, who play in All-Ireland League Division 2A, are back in training and have friendlies at home to both Belfast Harlequins and Malone next month.
They will begin their defence of the Ulster League Section 1 title against three-in-a-row Senior Cup winners Armagh, who are back in the top division at the expense of Ballymena.
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