England Sevens player Sam Stanley has admitted that he contemplated suicide before becoming the first English rugby union player to come out as gay.

The 23-year-old, who has played for Saracens in the past, has claimed that the fear of being publicly open about his sexuality almost became too much for him.

"I was standing on a bridge about four or five years ago overlooking a motorway in Essex," Stanley told The Times. "However, looking back, the idea that I would jump was ridiculous but it was as if I was thinking that I could get rid of the pain in one go.

"You are so worried about what people will think and I thought I couldn't be a macho rugby player the way I was, and there was nothing else I wanted to do with my life."

Earlier this month, Keegan Hirst became the first rugby league player in Britain to come out as gay.