The 43-year-old flanker called time on his playing days in 2016 after suffering a knee injury and he’s admitted he struggled with the transition in the months after hanging up his boots.

He told Rugby World magazine: “I went off the rails after retiring, drank every day for a year.

“Everybody was trying to help – my mum, dad, partner, and I wasn’t taking any notice of them.

“One day I just woke up and thought, ‘Right, snap back into it.’ I just stopped…

“I struggled with the transition. For 18 years I had a routine and structure to my life.

“When I didn’t have to get up one day, I just lay on the bed. It was like having an emptiness in you.

“You have so much support now with mental health.

“When I started as a pro, people didn’t want to help you, you couldn’t be the person you were supposed to be. The biggest thing is to talk – don’t be ashamed of talking.”

Andy is now a coach for Whitchurch RFC and he thinks he is “good” at it, even though it wasn’t something he initially thought he’d go into.

He said: “I never thought I’d be a coach. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t the easiest guy to coach, but I’m good at managing the boys.

“Everybody’s different and you have to treat people individually.

“I think that’s the best part of my game, my man-management.

“I’ve learned a little bit off every coach I’ve had.”