Retiring hooker Damien Fitzpatrick has a simple hope when it comes to his legacy at the Waratahs.
The 31-year-old, who announced his retirement to teammates on Thursday, just wants to be remembered as someone who gave rugby everything.
"I’d like to be remembered as someone who contributed positively," he said.
"I’m not going to be remembered as someone who set the world on fire, I understand that, but I’d like to think when people watch me play they understood the passion I had and I went out and gave it my all.
"That’s all I could ask.
"I tried to give everything I could on the field and I tried to give everything to every single person in rugby off the field.
"I’ve tried to be respectful, very approachable and open to the wider rugby community.
"I’d like to think that anyone who did come in contact with me during my time had a positive experience and then also saw within my capabilities how much playing meant and how hard I tried on the field.
"Those are the pretty important things for me."
Fitzpatrick played 48 games for the Waratahs over more than a decade with the club, in a career that was often hampered by injuries.
There were times when Fitzpatrick thought his career was already over.
Three serious knee injuries, both in Australia and during a stint in France, curtailed close to three years of his career but his luck began to turn in the back end of his career.
Fitzpatrick returned to Australia at the end of 2016, playing with the Sydney Rays in the NRC before making his Waratahs comeback in 2017 and becoming one of their most consistent players.
The rake said being able to make his Super Rugby return at home made him appreciate final years of his career even more.
"If nothing else, coming back and being able to finish my career here in Sydney is something that I think everyone would love to do," he said.
"When you start out your career everyone dreams of being a one-club person and particularly if that club is the one you grew up supporting.
"When I went overseas early and through some of the adversity I had with my knee I didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to do that. I’ve been asked a few times now why aren’t you going back overseas.
"There is something about retiring here in Sydney, retiring being able to wear the sky blue that is really important to me and it’s something that I did think about when I was weighing up my options for my future.
"I felt that this was the right thing for me and it means a lot."
Fitzpatrick told his teammates of his decision officially on Thursday but said it was something that had been on his mind for a while.
"When I got an opportunity to tell the group, that was important to me to be able to stand in front of my Waratahs teammates and also the staff and let them know the news and the reasoning before it broke in the media," he said.
"It was really tough.
"It got to the stage where I started talking about what it meant to me to play and I’ve had a lot of challenges along the way in my career.
"Statistically what I have done is not remarkable. For me just thinking back to me how far I’ve had to come to be able to play to an age of 31 for myself is a huge achievement knowing how long the road back was at stages.
"It was really emotional but really nice at the same time."
The Eastwood hooker said he hoped that his decision could open the door for the next generation of Waratahs to step up as well.
"I had spoken to the club last year and we knew there was a high possibility this was going to be my last year but ideally it would have been nice to play out the regular Super Rugby season and retire in more normal circumstances," he said.
"As much as I would like to play in it, I also felt like the time was appropriate to allow other hookers to get an opportunity to go onto the field because we have some great young talent there.
"I think the Waratahs also need to start preparing for the future and having a look at some of the guys in our squad.
"For me personally I’ve been able to do some thinking in this time as well and for a long period of time I have been balancing quite a few things and I feel comfortable in my decision that now is the right time. On top of that I think it’s the right time for the team as well."
Fitzpatrick will turn his attentions in the short-term to his company Bondi Vite but the RUPA president hinted at an interest in going into sports administration down the track.
He has served as the RUPA president since mid-2018 and led the playing group through a tumultuous three months this season.
"Short-term I’ve still got a role and commitment to RUPA and to our players to make sure that I assist and help see us through this next period leading into getting us back onto the field," he said.
"We’ve got some conversations that are coming up shortly that will redirect the back-end of the year so there is a commitment there for me to fulfil my responsibility to the players and that is really important to me.
"I don’t know what the future holds. I am really passionate about rugby. I’m not saying I am going into professional coaching, I don’t think that is where my interests are going to pull me but I am interested in the other side of rugby and I would love to contribute somehow.
"How that looks is probably a little bit early to tell."
