Andrew Findlater refreshed not rueful after injury forces early retirement
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
ANDREW Findlater could quite easily cut a sombre figure. Instead, he feels like a man refreshed.
Injury has cut short his rugby career at just 25. A second cruciate ligament injury brought health concerns into sharp focus: sustain a third and he would need a knee replacement.
Simply fading away into the distance was something he considered. After all, he had given everything he could to the sport but in the last season, his body was buckling and struggling to say continue.
But a helping hand lent by Highland head coach Dave Carson, offering him the opportunity to take a couple of drills at training, has opened up a new avenue he previously had not considered.
Turning his back on playing was not a difficult decision and ultimately, the only one he could make.
“They told me if I did the cruciate a third time, that would be me needing a knee replacement,” said Findlater. “So it was a fairly easy decision. I loved being captain and I still enjoy being involved with the boys. But not having to go through the week being sore, then sore on a Sunday and struggling to train on a Tuesday; it’s best just to leave it now. If it hadn’t happened last year on grass, it would have this year on the new artificial pitch.
“It was a total no-brainer. I feel I played at the top of the amateur game, so I came up here knowing I really had nothing to prove to anyone. The season before last I played every game but last season, with having a shoulder injury too, my recovery was terrible. It’s quite refreshing going into work and being able to pick up boxes and lift thing if I need to.”
The injury came in the defeat to Glasgow Accies in March, not long after the 25-year-old had come through a troublesome shoulder problem. The news broke in July that he would be out for at least this season with the latest setback, with the Kingussie High School teacher needing to go on the waiting list with NHS Lothian for an operation as there was no specialist in ACL reconstruction available in the Highlands.
Findlater is synonymous with the club, winning the Caledonia player of the year in 2016 after leading Highland to promotion and the National Shield Final. He had just returned from a season out with Edinburgh Accies after his first ACL reconstruction and played in Premier B, alongside current Highland club development officer Iain Chisholm.
“Iain was a good friend of mine from down the road and I would like to think I played a big part in him coming up here,” said Findlater. “It was me that put him in touch with Andy Little and Geoff Begg. Guys come in and work under Dave, who has the final say but tells us what he wants from a session and it’s a good relationship between the coaches. Myself and Paul Burke take the forwards, Iain and Chris Brogan work with the backs.”
Findlater, whose brother Craig is a back and his father Graham a key figure behind-the-scenes at Canal Park, plans to get on the road with the team as much possible. He will still be at every home game and will make the effort where possible to get to as many away games as he can, although now he has hung up the boots, does not feel pressure to be available all the time.
“I had no plans to coach but it’s been enjoyable the last few weeks,” he added. “I thought about taking a back seat and just fading into the distance, but I feel I’ve got something to offer, be it for the next two or 10 years. I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing and see if I can make an impact.”
