Jimmy Gopperth: Leicester Tigers fly-half on playing at 39, surfing & state of rugby

Gopperth was evasive when asked if his Tigers’ contract extended beyond his next birthday, but insists he has no immediate plans to retire.

“People say to me that ‘you will be playing until you are 50’. It’s like a challenge for me as well,” he said.

“I’ll keep going until I get up one morning and don’t want to go to training. At the moment I’m waking up ready to roll.

“The love of it is still there. As long as I’m producing on the field and it’s helping my team-mates, then I will keep going. And as long as teams want to keep employing me, that’s the main thing.”

At Tigers, Gopperth is referred to by some team-mates as ‘koro’ – a title of respect for an elderly man in the Maori language.

He is quick to say “age is just a number” but also knows that a career that has already lasted two decades and spanned both hemispheres has filled his life with valuable experiences.

“It would be selfish of me to keep all my knowledge and not pass it through,” he said.

“I really enjoy passing that knowledge on to the young guys, even if it means that they are overtaking me and playing in front of me.”

For all Gopperth has done in the game, it is away from the pitch that he learned to survive and thrive in the sport.

“I have loads of friends that are just rugby, rugby, rugby and burnt out completely at quite young,” he said.

“It’s so important to have a balanced lifestyle.

“I started surfing when I was a young kid. That has helped my longevity as well because you use so many different muscles, especially core stability.

“When I got to Newcastle I surfed, at Leinster there was surf and then at Wasps and here we are literally in the middle of the land. That’s the reason I’ve taken up golf because I haven’t been able to get to the ocean as much.

“When I play those sports or do those things, I completely switch off from rugby.

“I just don’t overthink rugby, I’m not thinking about it 24/7. And that has been the key.”