Former South Africa flyhalf Peter Grant reckons he would have been forced into early retirement if it wasn’t for billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest.
Grant was among a big group of Western Force players who were left fearing for their future after the franchise was axed from Super Rugby at the end of last season.
The 33-year-old had the option of continuing his career in Japan, but he couldn’t bear the thought of uprooting his young family again.
Grant, who was born in South Africa and made five appearances for the Springboks, was on the cusp of receiving his Australian permanent residency when the Force were cut.
The prospect of being pushed into early retirement was at the forefront of Grant’s mind, but he was able to shelve those plans when Forrest saved the Force by launching World Series Rugby.
“I’ve become a real WA man,” said Grant, who joined the Force in 2016.
“I applied for my permanent residency pretty early on when I came to Australia.
“My family loves it here, so to uproot them and go somewhere else would have been a big challenge.
“So I think I would have just hung up the boots and gone into something different if there was no World Series Rugby.”
Grant is keen to play on next year when WSR converts to a proper competition format, rather than the seven exhibition games that are being played this year.
WSR attracted huge crowds for the opening two games, and organisers hope there’ll be another big turnout for Saturday night’s match against the Melbourne Rebels.
The Force and Rebels were locked in a fierce battle for survival last year, but Grant said the players aren’t viewing the upcoming clash as a grudge match.
The Rebels are expected to bring a strong squad, minus their players who are on Wallabies duties.
Grant suffered a big scare in the WSR opener against Fiji Warriors when he got knocked unconscious after his head crashed into the ground during a tackle.
For Grant, it was the fifth or sixth concussion he has suffered during his career, and it was the most serious.
“I’ve never been knocked out completely like that,” Grant said.
“It took me a long time to get my vision completely back. It was a bit blurry and hazy.
“My memory was fine though. I can remember exactly what happened up until that point.
“I went to hospital and had a quick scan to make sure there was no bleeding. That was all ruled out, so they were all very happy. I felt quite relieved.”