Rebel Davidson calls it a day
Rebels loose forward Tim Davidson is hanging up his boots at the end of the season following a Super Rugby career across three different teams.
Reflecting on his time as a Rebel, 'Davo' admits that the impending conclusion of his career hasn't really sunk in yet.
"Obviously it's a pretty special time finishing up here," Davidson says. "It's funny, you get an innate feeling that tells you it's time to move on and you’re ready to choose what's next, and that's what I have had."
Davidson may not have featured for the Rebels against the British and Irish Lions, but he did play against the tourists when representing Combined Country XV in a tour game alongside teammates Trent Dyer and Angus Roberts.
"It was fantastic to captain Combined Country against the Lions," he says. "To represent where I am from (Young, New South Wales) was huge. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I really enjoyed the experience of getting to know and playing with guys like myself from the country. To play against a traditional side with the history of the Lions was a highlight of my career."
In 2012, Davidson captained Sydney University to a Shute Shield victory; his seventh premiership for the club. He is one of many current and former Rebels players and coaches who have joined the club from Sydney University, and Davidson believes that has been hugely beneficial when starting up as a new club in Melbourne.
Davidson is one of many leaders leaving the Rebels at the end of the season, but he believes that the next generation of leaders are ready to assume the mantle.
"I'm extremely confident in the future of the club. Guys like Hugh Pyle, Luke Jones and Cadeyrn Neville are coming into their fourth and fifth seasons as players, and I think there is a good nucleus there that can move the team forward."
Outside of the game, Davidson has completed a degree in Exercise Sports Science and a Masters in Commerce at Sydney University, as well as working part-time in an Agribusiness.
"The club have been great in allowing me to work one day a week for the whole three years that I've been here. I still have the farm in New South Wales, and I will never sell that, so that business experience will be really beneficial from an agricultural point of view. I will be keeping myself busy."
