Former Springbok hooker James Dalton has opened up about turning his life around.

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The 53-year-old, who earned 43 Test caps and was part of the 1995 World Cup-winning Springbok squad, said the toughest part of his journey was adjusting to life after rugby.

“When I played rugby, people saw me as James the Bullet. And when I stopped playing rugby, all of a sudden I was just James,” Dalton said on the reports.

I will never forget the day after I decided to retire. When I woke up in the morning, I was completely lost. I didn’t know what I was doing or where I was going, because I usually went to the rugby field to practise.”

Dalton said the social lifestyle that followed retirement contributed to his drinking habits

You play golf every afternoon and then you move from the 18th hole to the 19th. And you start drinking every day,” he explained. “I can now say with great pride that I haven’t put any alcohol in my body for 22 months and I thank God. I wish I had done it a long time ago.”

Today, Dalton runs a business and has found a new sporting outlet in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

“I will hopefully graduate to my brown belt soon. The belt after that is your black belt, which only 1% of all jiu-jitsu practitioners achieve. Hopefully that will be my next Springbok colours.”

Reflecting on his past and his growth, Dalton stressed the importance of being honest about personal struggles.

“I’m not afraid to be the first one to raise my hand and say there was a nasty James Dalton with bad habits, but life goes on,” he said.

“It’s OK to not be OK. For the people out there who are struggling a little, I want to say it’s OK. There are other people who will listen. It takes a real man and woman to be able to say ‘I’m not OK’.”