Rugby union World Cup winner Jason Robinson has revealed he once considered suicide during the early part of his sporting career, following his arrest for violent offences.
The former dual-code international said his time as a rugby league player at Wigan was marked by heavy drinking sessions which had a big impact.
Robinson told ITV's Sports Life Stories that it was his team-mate at the time, Va'aiga Tuigamala, who helped turn things around.
"I can remember I just sat in my bedroom with an old knife, an old meat cleaver," he said.
"I didn’t want life to go on in this way. That night when I contemplated doing it, I wept like a baby.
"Had it not been for him [Tuigamala], coming into the environment I was in and putting a different slant on it, I certainly wouldn’t have the hope that I’ve got now. And hope is something that people can’t take away."
Robinson started his career in rugby league before making the switch to union, where he went on to play for England and won the 2003 World Cup, scoring a try in the final.
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