My Life in Rugby: Adrian Flavin – former London Irish and Connacht hooker

Although playing for London Irish and then Connacht, Leicester seem to pop up quite a lot over my career.
I made my Exiles debut aged 18 in 1997 against them, when I managed to get a couple of minutes.
They had the ABC gang and it was very much a baptism of fire as all of a sudden I was surrounded by the likes of Richard Cockerill, Darren Garforth and Graham Rowntree.
When I was around 23 I was getting a run of game time and starting to establish myself and then I broke my neck against them. I went to tackle Martin Corry and my head went straight into his sternum and it pushed my disc out the back but I still finished the game.
I got a call from the doctor who told me not to make any sudden movement and to see him later on. It put me out for seven months, I came back and started against Sale and snapped ankle ligaments.
It should have been my big season but I spent most of it on the sidelines.
But I got back into the team and we had some good games, one of them our successful Powergen Cup run in 2002.
I didn't make the final squad but I'd helped them get there. It was the coaches' call and I respect that and it was a great achievement for the club.
I'd started playing rugby for London Irish when I was five and ended up playing there until I was 26.
Both my brothers, Andrew and David, played for London Irish, my dad Tim was involved with the minis and my mum Mairead helped to set up the coffee stall. So it kind of ran in my blood.
In 2006 the Connacht opportunity came up and I went for it.  When I first played there was 452 people to watch us at home to Glasgow and then over the last two or three seasons, we've regularly been getting 4-5,000 fans. That change and the development at the club has been a great thing to see.
I remember our game against Harlequins in the Heineken Cup in January last year. We'd lost 15 in a row which would be a killer for any team. But we'd only been losing by small margins so were confident we could turn it round.
It was a testament to the guys that we stuck together and rose to the occasion against a big team.
I got the captain's armband in 2010 when Samoa played us, which was a great honour. I remember finishing the game with a dislocated and broken thumb and only realised when I went to take a lineout and it slid out of my hand but we won 26-22.
Throughout my career my family have been there for me, including my parents when I was five to my wife Clare and children Samuel and Joseph.
I appreciate all the support they've given me and so when it came to retiring this year I discussed all my options with them.
I had other offers to carry on but I felt the time was right to look at something else. I'd always been studying and doing my coaching qualifications and I was fortunate to be offered the position of director of rugby at Castleknock School in July.
There are loads to keep me on my toes and it'll be a case of working hard here over the next few years and seeing what happens.