Retired rugby sevens player James Stannard dedicated to health and family after career taken away

JAMES Stannard, Australia’s highest pointscorer in rugby sevens history, has opened up about family, his attempted comeback and the horror effects from the alleged coward punch that ended his career.

James Stannard still suffers from headaches and vertigo after the violent incident. Picture: Getty

JAMES Stannard, Australia’s highest pointscorer in rugby sevens history, has been forced to retire three months after being allegedly coward punched.

Having failed to overcome lingering effects from the incident to play in July’s World Cup, Stannard now intends to help his teammates prepare from the sidelines.

He tells JAMIE PANDARAM about his ordeal.

THE ATTACK

“It’s mixed emotions, but it’s something I try not to think about at all.

“I put it on the backburner, because it’s quite easy to think about it, and think negatively. And that will start playing a role in your life if you start thinking negative things.

“I try not to think about that crap because I’ve got two girls at home who have no idea what anything’s about, and I’ve got to be up for them and be around them all the time.

James Stannard still suffers from headaches and vertigo after the violent incident. Picture: Getty

“I think [I’ve had my career taken away], it’s quite obvious you’d think that, but you can only control what you can control.

“If it’s my health that’s suffering now, I can only control that by not putting myself in a dangerous situation because it could be a worse outcome.”

THE EFFECTS

“Sometimes I do get a bit dizzy. Some days are really good, some days are really poor, that’s something I’ve got to deal with.

“I’ll make a recovery, I’ll have a few issues - vertigo - but I’ve just got to deal with them and keep seeing the right people and get that sorted.

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“If I’m not 100 per cent there’s no chance I am going to step foot on the field and let those lads down.

“I get light-headed, the headaches start coming in, getting a bit hot in the head, in my sinuses.”

Australian sevens captain James Stannard was forced to retire. Picture: Toby Zerna

ATTEMPTED COMEBACK

“I got back real slow, tried some light training three weeks ago, and in the end I never got out of that school zone speed. Not good.

“The next day I was out of action, just sleeping and resting, got headaches.

“It’s such a hard sport, sevens, it’s not like you can play a game and rest for a week. You’ve got to play a game, rest for two hours and get back on the horse again. You do that six times a weekend.

“If I can’t do that for a light session, there’s no chance I’m going to be able to back up in games.

“It’s going to take time, and that’s just not on my side at the moment.”

Erciyes-2 kebab shop on Coogee Bay Road was the scene of the incident. Picture: Jenny Evans

TELLING FAMILY

“I got home that afternoon and told Kimbo (wife Kim), ‘I’ve got bloody headaches, I’m going to pull the pin’.

“It hasn’t really sunk in. Like my old man says, ‘Life’s a bitch sometimes, but you’ve got to move on with it’.

“New opportunities will arise. Your football career is an inch long, but your life is an armspan long so there’s plenty more to do in life.

“It’s very sad but you’ve got to go down a different road.”

James Stannard is Australia’s leading point scorer. Picture: Getty

TELLING TEAMMATES

“That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. That was quite tough.

“We went down to Andy Friend’s farm last weekend, I knew before the Paris leg and I didn’t want to tell them via text or a social post because I’ve got so much respect for them.

“I held it in for a week and got them back, let them know down there in person.

“It was tough I tell you, I’d rather be kicking goals and throwing my body into a few dangerous situations than do that. But it’s something I had to do.

TELLING KIDS ABOUT HIS CAREER

“I don’t think they’ll want to know, I’ve got two girls so hopefully they’re not playing rugby, hopefully they’re playing golf and I’m travelling around caddying for them, getting on some junkets.

“I got on a video game a few years ago, an EA Sports one, 2008 I think it was, I’ll be showing them that just to prove that I did play rugby.

“If they ask me I’ll be letting them know I was pretty average at it, and I was just lucky and privileged, because it’s never a right to play this game at this level, it’s always a privilege.”

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Originally published as Retired rugby sevens player James Stannard dedicated to health and family after career taken away