Ending a career in elite sport brings with it the potential for stressful experiences for the athlete. Whilst in traditional occupations retirement most likely occurs after a long working career, an athletes retirement from sport can come at any stage (due to loss of form or injury). Professional sport provides brilliant opportunities and experiences however, the suggestion is that long term future planning is vital during an athletes playing days. This means planning for retirement whilst playing is imperative for the elite athlete to allow for a transition that is as smooth as possible. This study adopted a qualitative approach to explore the perceptions and attitudes of current professional rugby union players towards their preparations for retirement. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with professional rugby union players (n=13) from across England and Wales. A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts revealed four themes: pre-professional experiences, influence from external sources close to the players, provisions in place to support professional players, and changing life circumstances. The results suggested that players awareness of plans for retirement are influenced by significant others and changes to their lifestyle. Although provisions are in place to promote increased preparations, there was a definite sense of players not fully committing to being proactive about their preparations alongside their playing career. The findings from this study are that there is more to be done on a policy level to help players and that a holistic approach should be adopted to provide a more thorough perspective on life after an elite athletic career.