Former Wales rugby centre Jamie Roberts is balancing his new career as a hospital doctor with punditry and family life, describing the pace as "all guns blazing" as he considers a move to Australia.
Roberts officially began his medical career last year after graduating from Cardiff University's school of medicine in 2013. His first year involved working across departments including geriatrics and general surgery alongside rugby punditry. Having moved to A&E earlier this year, he will soon switch to respiratory medicine.
Balancing medicine with family and rugby
Speaking at the launch of Vodafone's Opportunity Hub pop-up in Abergavenny, Roberts told WalesOnline: "Life is all systems go at the minute. It's an incredible experience working there." He added: "First of all, it's a good learning experience, but it also requires a bit of a different skill set. You're managing time and there's pressure as well, juggling lots of different things."
Roberts, who has three young children, said: "I've spent the last 20 years of my life juggling those two different career paths. I've always liked having multiple focuses in life. I guess I've continued that in retirement from the game as well."
He noted that his rugby role has changed, saying: "It's not on the playing side anymore. But having different things in my life feels quite wholesome. Also, it feels like I'm contributing to society in different ways."
A different kind of pressure
Roberts explained how his new role differs from rugby: "Before I was trying to fit lots of different things around my rugby career, with that being the primary focus and studying a side hustle. You come out the other side, the primary focus now is working as a doctor."
He works 80 per cent of full-time hours, allowing him to drop a day each week. "In rugby, you're answerable to your peers, your fans, your coaches, the people watching on TV," he said. "In the hospital, you're answerable to the patient and the patient's health. So the pressure differs. That's the one thing that's taken some time to get used to."
Hoping for a stint in Australia
Roberts, who turns 40 in a couple of weeks, said he would love to spend time in Australia. "My wife is from Sydney, so that'd be pretty cool," he said. "If I can manoeuvre a little year or two out there with the kids whilst they're still young, that'd be incredible."
He acknowledged the challenges of medicine, saying: "There have been moments in the last year when you're maybe doubting yourself or thinking is this what I want for the next 10 or 20 years? Every resident doctor goes through that."
Roberts was speaking at the launch of the pop-up in Abergavenny, which aims to help local residents "explore new ideas, access practical tools and advice and take the next step to turn inspiration into reality". The free event celebrated local network upgrades from Vodafone that have made download speeds up to nine times faster in parts of Abergavenny.
