The former Wales centre is spinning a number of plates after swapping rugby for medicine

For Jamie Roberts, life at the minute has been, as he puts it, "all guns blazing".

Last year, the former Wales centre officially began his new career as a doctor - having graduated from Cardiff University's school of medicine back in 2013. The first year of his life in medicine was spent balancing work in different departments, like geriatrics and general surgery, with rugby punditry.

Having moved to A&E earlier this year, he'll soon be switching to another department - heading over to respiratory.

For Welsh rugby's ultimate renaissance man - having experienced pretty much all the sport could offer on and off the field - the plate-spinning is nothing new.

"Life is all systems go at the minute," he tells WalesOnline following the launch of Vodafone’s Opportunity Hub pop-up in Abergavenny. "It's an incredible experience working there.

"First of all, it's a good learning experience, but it also requires a bit of a different skill set. You're managing time and there's pressure as well, juggling lots of different things.

"But life's been great. Obviously, I've got three young kids, alongside a whole host of rugby bits. It's all just a bit of a delicate balancing act, but I'm managing it OK and I manage to travel as well, which is a huge passion as well.

"It's good, but super busy. That's how I like it really. But the kids are just growing up too quick.

"I've spent the last 20 years of my life juggling those two different career paths. I've always liked having multiple focuses in life. I guess I've continued that in retirement from the game as well.

"My role in rugby has obviously changed. It's not on the playing side anymore. But having different things in my life feels quite wholesome.

"Also, it feels like I'm contributing to society in different ways. There is a small part of me that thinks if I just had one thing and went after that, life would be a little bit different.

"But I don't think I've ever been that way, when I reflect on my teenage years, even going back that far, I've always wanted to do lots of different things and kind of maximise life a bit. That's what life is at the minute, I'm trying to maximise everything.

"Three young children teach you to do that a bit as well, because time moves so fast. You realise that, certainly the work I'm in gives you an extra lens with which to look at your life as well."

It's also impossible to ignore the fact that a life running into hulking bodies - regardless of how high a level Roberts climbed to in that regard - is totally different to his new role.

"Before I was trying to fit lots of different things around my rugby career, with that being the primary focus and studying a side hustle," he explains. "You come out the other side, the primary focus now is working as a doctor.

"You're answerable to the rota. You're there for fixed hours. Everything else slots around that. I actually work 80 per cent.

"You're allowed to do less than full-time on the NHS, so I drop a day in the week. That allows me to do everything else in my life really. It's a healthy balance.

"I can spend time with my family and my extracurricular work, which includes rugby bits with the board and media. The pace of life is just a little bit slower in the real world outside the rugby bubble.

"So you've got a bit more time to plan. It's super rewarding, but in such a different way. In rugby, you're answerable to your peers, your fans, your coaches, the people watching on TV.

"Certainly when you play for Wales, you're answerable to every Welsh person around the world. You feel this duty. In the hospital, you're answerable to the patient and the patient's health.

"So the pressure differs. That's the one thing that's taken some time to get used to."

'I would love to do a stint on Australia'

While life seems busy enough, there's always something else on the bucket list for Roberts to tick off. After all, for the man who played 94 times for his country, toured twice with the Lions, played in France and England, and then played on stage with the Manic Street Preachers, there's bound to be something else on the horizon.

"I'm 40 in a couple of weeks, so that's going to be a bit of a milestone," he says. "I'm just trying to envisage how the next decade's going to look.

"I want to go to work, enjoy life with a young family and there is a little part of me that would love to do a stint in Australia. I talked to my wife about that.

"It's always been there at some point, but I don't know where that is. If I can manoeuvre a little year or two out there with the kids whilst they're still young, that'd be incredible.

"My wife is from Sydney, so that'd be pretty cool. It's taking it year by year, I guess, and just seeing. It's a tough career, medicine. There have been moments in the last year when you're maybe doubting yourself or thinking is this what I want for the next 10 or 20 years?

"Every resident doctor goes through that. I think as retired rugby players, we're no different. We go through those periods of uncertainty."

Roberts was speaking at the launch of a new pop-up in Abergavenny, designed to help local residents "explore new ideas, access practical tools and advice and take the next step to turn inspiration into reality".

"My life's so busy now that if I wasn't organised, which means being connected on the move, I'd really struggle. Being connected, whether it was down the years revising or when I was playing abroad and being connected to your friends and family, it was so important.

"The importance of connection in my life at the minute, certainly at work, is being able to have that device to lean on because you can't remember everything in medicine. It's hard!

"Even something as simple as checking the BNF - the British National Formulary - which is like the Bible of medicine. You can't always remember all the doses and timing. So having this thing at the tip of your fingers and being connected in work is is hugely important."