Nick McCarthy considered leaving rugby due to sexuality before coming out as gay

Leinster scrum-half Nick McCarthy admits he previously contemplated quitting professional rugby due to his sexuality after announcing he is gay.

The 27-year-old shared the news publicly on Monday having already come out to coaches Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster and his team-mates.

McCarthy initially feared he would not be able to be openly homosexual and continue in his current job.

Yet he took strength from the stories of footballer Josh Cavallo and American footballer Carl Nassib, in addition to his bisexual team-mate Jack Dunne.

McCarthy said his experience has been “entirely positive”, describing the reaction of Cullen and Lancaster as “unbelievable”.

“I struggled with coming out for a while and it was starting to impact on me and my happiness so it was the right decision,” he told Leinster’s website.

“It affected me so much that I agonised over my future and contemplated walking away from rugby altogether because I just didn’t think I could come out while playing rugby.

“It’s not common for a male athlete to come out in sport, never mind professional rugby, and it’s probably something that I didn’t want to believe or accept myself either.

“I needed to accept being gay myself before I could address it with others. I have great friends in rugby but I didn’t know how they would take it.

“My experience, since coming out though has been entirely positive. I have realised that anyone who cares about you, just wants you to be happy.”

McCarthy told Cullen and Lancaster in November before informing the rest of the Leinster squad in January.

“Leinster Rugby is built on ‘brotherhood’ and it’s important that we can be open and honest with each other,” continued the former Ireland Under-20 international.

“I was obviously pretty