Knockouts end former Hurricane's career

Former Hurricanes flanker Ben Herring has literally been knocked out of rugby - forced to retire prematurely after suffering his fourth major concussion of the season.

The 29-year-old Herring has been in good form for glamour English club Leicester but isn't willing to risk his health after visiting a neurosurgeon in the wake of his latest blow to the head.

"The surgeon said, 'You can't replace your brain and you'd be risking far too much if you go on playing'," Herring told Britain's Daily Mail newspaper.

"When someone who knows all about the brain spells it out, you know that's got to be it.

"My wife and I have a new-born baby so there wasn't much of a decision to make. I told the club ... they knew it was coming.'

Herring said he had been forced off the field eight times with concussions with the last four coming in the past year.

He knew he was in trouble because of the the frequencies of the injuries and the severity of them.

"The loss of consciousness from the last one wasn't as bad as the previous ones, but after the vomiting and dizziness my eyes were so bad I couldn't watch TV or look at a computer screen. I had to wear dark glasses."

Herring also played for Southland and the Highlanders before shifting north to Wellington during his New Zealand career.

But when he missed out on a 2007 Super 14 contract he took his game to Europe.

- © Fairfax NZ News