WING Sam Smith has retired from rugby after injuries limited him to “90 per cent” of his top speed.

The 26-year-old didn’t feature for Worcester Warriors last season after racking up 15 tries in 19 appearances during their promotion campaign from the Greene King IPA Championship.

Smith admitted he would not have felt comfortable “taking a wage off someone knowing I am not the best player I can be”.

Smith said: “This is something I never expected when I started out playing when I was 18 years old but unfortunately I have had four tears in my quad muscle over the last 18 months.

“I have done everything I can but I am one of the unlucky ones and I have had to hang up my boots prematurely and move on to the next chapter in my life.”

The first time Smith tore his leg muscle was setting up a Warriors try at Moseley which was finished off by Chris Pennell.

Smith injured his leg again last summer in pre-season and then suffered two more tears in the muscle before having an operation.

“I am just unable to get above 90 per cent towards my top speed which, obviously as a winger is pretty important and, unfortunately, I am not skilful enough to be going into the centres,” Smith explained.

"As a player, I want to be putting in 100 per cent in every performance and if I were to walk on to the rugby field at 90 per cent I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking a wage off someone knowing I am not the best player I can be.

"I want to play at the top level and at the top of my game."

He added: “When I spoke to Nick Johnston and Jim O’Toole, I could have hobbled on this year but I wanted to be honest with them.

“They have shown me a lot of respect and a lot of support and I have a good relationship with them.

“I knew I wouldn’t be the player I once was and it was time for me to make my decision.

“I came to Worcester off the back of a good season at Quins and the challenge was to help the guys get back into the Premiership.

“I enjoyed every second of it and I will always look back on that season fondly.

"It is a shame I didn’t get the chance to show the Sixways fans what I could do in the Premiership.”

Smith, however, has been able to bring a long-term project of his to life.

His speciality coffee shop, named Wayland’s Yard, is set to open next to Foregate Street train station in Worcester in the middle of next month.

The former Harlequins man also picked up a first-class honours degree in politics and economics, demonstrating how players can balance a professional rugby career with studying.

“To keep the last month in perspective, I have got a first-class degree, had planning permission accepted on my new coffee shop and then I retired from rugby, so it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster,” he said.

“I have been looking into the coffee shop project for about 16 months  and I am going become a barista and general manager at the coffee shop.

“It is not something I had planned 10 years ago but I am really excited about it and it’s something I am passionate about.”

Warriors high performance director Nick Johnston said: “I have only got the highest praise for Sam and how he has conducted himself.

“He is full of integrity and you can’t put a price on that in professional sport. He didn’t just want to go through the motions.

“I know Sam will make his business a success because he puts 150 per cent into everything he does. You would have 40 Sam Smiths in your rugby squad if you could.”