Milestone man Tom Robertson says his 2024 sabbatical has given him a new lease on his rugby life and says there’s plenty in him before he goes down the path to become a doctor.
The 30-year-old prop will bring up his 100th Super Rugby cap on Saturday when the Force take on the Crusaders in Christchurch from 11:35am WST, live on Stan Sport.
Dubbo-raised Robertson debuted for the Waratahs in 2016, playing 60 games for NSW, before switching to the Force blue in 2011.
Robertson missed the 2024 season following an ACL injury which allowed him to take a one-year sabbatical at Oxford University to complete a Masters of Public Policy.
The 30-cap Wallaby, who became a first-time dad with the birth of son Darby in December, has barely missed a beat this year on his return to Super Rugby and told reporters on Thursday that the year off had freshened him up.
"It really refreshed my career having that year off," he said. "Missing out on potential World Cup selection in 2023 after doing my ACL was really disappointing.
"So then to have the chance to go over and study at Oxford for 12 months was the best refresh for my career.
“After playing 100 games now, I feel like I can do another 100 after having that year off.
"It refreshed in my mind how much I love playing rugby and it’s given so much to me and I want to give back.
“I’m definitely ready to kick on and I think this has bought a few years of my career left as well.”
Robertson’s rugby journey has been unique, debuting in 2016 at Super Rugby level for the ‘Tahs, scoring on debut, before graduating to the Wallabies set-up later that year. That all came amid his study endeavours which he’d planned to pursue sooner.
"When I first started at the Waratahs, I was on an extended playing squad contract. I was not really expecting to play professional rugby for more than a year," Robertson said.
"I had in my contract that in the days off I could go to medical school. I had all that stuff written in because I generally thought I would be a doctor and not a professional rugby player.
“Going into that season in 2016 I didn’t really expect to even debut and I had so many good players in front of me that it wasn’t even really on my radar.
And then after a few injuries and a bit of good luck, I managed to play a few games in that year and went on to make my Wallabies debut in the same year, which was an incredible ride.”
Robertson revealed he has four more years of study to do post rugby before he intends to pursue a career as an anaesthetist.
"I have an undergraduate bachelor of medical science, I have a master of public health, and I have a master of philosophy, majoring in anaesthesia," Robertson said.
"I have a suspended doctorate of medicine from the Sydney of University, which I'll finish off after rugby.
"I'd love to be an anaesthetist one day, and do two to three days a week of clinical, and two to three days in government or public health."
