Copyright mirror
British & Irish Lions legend Jamie Roberts now helps save lives, taking his career from the rugby pitch to the hospital. The Welsh rugby great will be a feature on our television screens throughout November , working for TNT Sports as part of their autumn internationals coverage. As well as offering his rugby expertise, Roberts is skilled in the field of medicine. The former Harlequins centre studied while playing international rugby in his early to mid-20s and would often turn up to training early to get vital revision in before big exams - all in the midst of a Test week. Remarkably, he passed his exams and became a doctor while earning 94 Wales caps, three Six Nations titles and going on two consecutive tours with the Lions. Roberts retired in 2022 and in the past three years has dabbled in punditry and become a non-executive director on the board of the Welsh Rugby Union. However, this summer, Roberts began working as a resident doctor. After playing club and international rugby for so many years, he’s finally got the opportunity to work in the field he studied for. In an exclusive interview with WalesOnline, Roberts revealed how excited he was to immerse himself in the world of medicine. "I crave pressure, responsibility and accountability," Roberts said. "It has taken me a while to work out exactly what I miss from the game and that’s it. I miss the pressure and doing something that brings with it pressure and scrutiny. Of course I miss the lads, I miss the changing room and I miss the social side of rugby probably above all else. "I love problem-solving, I love working with people and I guess when you go through that soul-searching when you retire, you try to narrow down what you really love and what you really want to go after. "Medicine and being a doctor ticks a lot of boxes. It’s problem-solving, it’s in science, it’s working with people, it brings significant pressure and responsibility. I can’t wait to join another great team in the NHS ." The former Cardiff Rugby back began working towards achieving this goal in November last year, when he completed another set of exams to qualify. Of course, he passed with flying colours and began practising as a junior doctor at Llandough Hospital in Cardiff. "There’s an exam once a year - once every November - if you want to get back into clinical medicine the following August, because the intake runs in the academic year," said Roberts in the summer. "I sat an exam in Manchester in November. I gave myself three or four weeks’ prep and I was in the library in the Heath spending many long evenings. They can examine you on anything, so you have to revise everything. That was challenging, having been out of it for over 12 years. "So if you’ve graduated and you’ve not started that foundation year within two years, you have to resit this exam. It’s a clinical exam – 12 stations with actors and they can ask you anything. I have young children, so you can apply for something called pre-allocation, which allows you to work in your local health board. "I’m starting at Llandough, which is my first rotation on geriatrics and then I’ve got my other five rotations at the Heath for the next couple of years. I think I’ve got A&E, emergency medicine, trauma orthopedics, cardiovascular medicine, respiratory medicine and colorectal surgery. "So you can pro rata your time commitment and salary I guess for 50% all the way to 100%. So I’ve applied for 70%-80%, which gives me that day off in the week to allow me to stay involved in the game. It was an amazing feeling, passing that exam, because you are on your path then. The NHS is probably more flexible now than it has been previously. I get pre-allocated to Cardiff and Vale health board." Roberts will begin with two foundation years, during which he’ll need to decide what area of medicine he wants to specialise in long-term. He was also recently part of the 12-strong WRU board that unanimously passed a plan to reduce the number of Welsh regions to three by 2028. With work in punditry, medicine and the WRU, Roberts has certainly kept himself busy since hanging up his boots.
