BT Sport to air Brian O’Driscoll doc, After the Roar

BT Sport is to premier documentary After The Roar, which has been co-produced by BT Sport Films and Brian O’Driscoll, Craig Doyle and Keith Doyle’s production company 3 Rock Productions.

The film sees O’Driscoll investigate the mental health struggles he – and other former elite sportsmen – face when attempting to come to terms with the end of their sporting careers.

For many ex-sportsmen, there’s a stigma attached to showing vulnerability. After The Roar looks at the gendered nature of men within society and their coping mechanisms with retirement from sport.

The film begins with O’Driscoll reflecting on 15 years as an elite international rugby player: “When I retired, I was confronted with one of the most testing challenges I’d ever faced – life after sport. From the outside, my retirement may have looked easy, but the truth is I had my own battles. I don’t think I’m alone and I’m very keen to better understand the impact retirement has on former athletes, and sports men in particular.”

O’Driscoll and psychotherapist Richie Sadlie then examine retirement and how it affects professional athletes across a range of sports. Gareth Southgate, manager of the England men’s national football team; former coach of Australia’s rugby union side, Michael Cheika; champion jockey AP McCoy; boxer and Team GB Olympic medallist Anthony Ogogo; and England international cricketer Jonny Bairstow all also appear in the film.

The executive producers on After The Roar are Sally Brown (BT Sport); Craig Doyle and Keith Doyle (3 Rock Productions); with Theo Lee-Ray, Isobel Williams and Mark Sharman the BT Sport Films producer/director team.

The film builds on the collaboration between BT Sport and 3 Rock Productions, which in 2018 saw the release of Shoulder To Shoulder, a documentary which captured the history of the Irish national rugby union team.

Sally Brown, executive producer, BT Sport Films, said: “While sporting stars dominate the headlines during their career, what comes next in retirement is often overlooked. After the Roar offers a fascinating and thought-provoking insight into what happens when the final curtain call approaches and former elite athletes face up to less limelight and new mental and physical health challenges. Our approach in using Richie in the role of Brian’s psychotherapist, and revisiting their sessions throughout the film, meant that we could drive home the huge importance for men in particular to feel able to talk openly and honestly about their mental health.”   

O’Driscoll adds: “I hope this film is a source of support and help to sports people at all levels, especially around the mental and physical health challenges posed by retirement from sport – it is certainly a documentary that is very personal to me. Every sportsperson will struggle to come to terms with the end of their playing career in some shape or form – I certainly did. If I had the chance to meet a young Brian O’Driscoll, knowing what I know now, I think the most important thing I could do would be to pass on Richie’s advice. I’d tell him how important it is to talk.”

Craig Doyle said: “I have spent the last two decades working next to some of the world’s top sportsmen and have seen how, despite their successes, their mental health can be as fragile as anyone else’s. I wanted to explore this issue in a documentary and to see an idea becoming this powerful and insightful BT Sport Film is truly rewarding. When Brian agreed to see a therapist as the spine of the film, we knew we had something very special indeed. Brian and all those he spoke to have helped break down the taboo of men speaking about their feelings which is so important. The BT Sport Films team of Isobel Williams, Theo Lee Ray and Mark Sharman had in-depth understanding of the issues and told the stories in a sensitive way creating an incredibly powerful film.  We are very proud of the creative partnership with BT Sport Films.”

After The Roar will air on Friday 9 September at 10pm on BT Sport 1.