A chronic back injury has forced former Wallabies loose forward Scott Fava to end a rugby career which made him the only player to appear for all four Australian Super teams.

Fava was to complete the second season of a two-year deal with the NSW Waratahs in 2010 but decided to call it quits after struggling to overcome a back injury sustained early in the 2009 season.

"It's been really hard being on the sidelines for so long, working so hard to get back but not seeing much progress," said 33-year-old Fava, who earned five Tests caps for Australia from his 2005 debut against England.

"Over the last few months it's become clearer that I wont be able to get my body back to the point where it needs to be to play professional rugby.

"It's not a decision that I've taken lightly, but at the end of the day I need to make sure I can lead a normal life post-football both professionally and for my family."

From the NSW south coast town of Kiama, Fava started his pro career with Queensland in 1999 before making his Super Rugby debut with the Reds in 2000.

Fava then moved to the Brumbies before becoming a foundation member of the Western Force in 2006 where he scored the province's first ever Super Rugby try.

Fava also played for the Australian Sevens team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

He is the only player to win the Ken Catchpole Medal three times, voted as the most outstanding player in the Sydney club competition in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Fava has already laid down the first steps in his post-playing career with the launch of www.myrugbystar.com, a website allowing players to provide unscripted and uncut content to converse with their fans on the internet.

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