Former England hooker Mark Regan has revealed his decision to hide his deafness in order to persue his Rugby World Cup dreams.
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Regan, known for his stints with Bath, Leeds Tykes, and Bristol, as well as his tours with the British and Irish Lions, has been living with deafness since the age of two.
Despite this, he chose to keep it hidden from both teammates and coaches throughout his career, fearing it could hinder his ambitions of reaching the pinnacle of rugby success.
“I’ve been deaf since I was two,” he said. “I kept it a secret, because I’d seen it as a weakness and I had to if I wanted to get to the top.
“100,000 people in the crowd, you’re doing a lineout call to win the World Cup and you miss the lineout call and you don’t hear it, it’s the difference between winning and losing, isn’t it? And I don’t think anyone or any coach would take that gamble.”
Revealing the extent of his hearing impairment, he continued: “I can’t hear S, F, C, W. A crowded room is very hard, so I lip read. But I didn’t know any different as a kid, never told anyone, because I’d never get to the top. I can just see it.
“It never got out until I just thought, well at the end of the day I wear my hearing aids now, and I wear them with pride. I can hear the leaves whistling, I can hear the birds singing.”
He added: “I’m the person that wanted to prove everyone wrong, that I can get to the top. You can succeed even with a disability these days, you can get to the top. I learned very quickly that you’re not on your own, you’re with the squad. You’ve got to trust in each other and believe and be accountable for your actions and learn your role in the team.
“I just wanted to get to the top and get to the furthest pinnacle of a rugby career you could possibly get to. Just giving my heart and soul and everything I possibly could give. I look back with great pride.”
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