Despite managing to fight his way to 70 caps for Scotland, scoring 220 test points with 13 tries along the way, Kenny struggled with some simple everyday tasks.

"If you'd asked me to write out my address I wouldn't be able to do it without help, but I was still representing my country," he said.
The powerful winger, who was dubbed 'Desperate Dan' by fans because of his square jaw and all-action playing style, saw elements of his Dyslexia such as short term memory loss, dampen his effectiveness on the pitch.

He said: "I'd ask Gregor Townsend, who played for Scotland with me, to shout the call five or six times but I still wouldn't remember it, I just watched what was happening in front of me and guessed what to do."
The 35-year-old also used to fear general team meetings if he knew reading or writing was involved, and he would go to extreme lengths to hide his lack of these basic skills.

"I worried about getting caught in team meetings; I would hide in the toilets and turn up late to avoid those parts of it, even if it meant I was punished," he said.

After he underwent treatment in the Dore programme, which uses a series of exercises to help the brain process information quicker, Kenny realised that even though he was entering the twilight years of his career, his form was better than ever before.

He said: "Gregor (Townsend) started to notice I wasn't asking him to repeat the calls as much, and he'd check, 'Have you got the call?' and he'd be shocked that I'd remembered it."

He added: "I wish I'd done the Dore programme five years sooner, because the last two years of my rugby career were the best."

Kenny described how it was his wife Gabby who persuaded him to seek help when the BBC presenter realised he couldn't read, but even with her support Kenny was still too embarrassed to admit his failings.
"She asked me to call up the Dore programme and I said 'I'm not calling up, they might know me', to which Gabby replied 'Don't flatter yourself', before doing it for me," he said.

Since his retirement the former Wasps winger has turned his attention to helping the programme which enabled him to end what he called "30 years of shame".

Kenny is determined to make sure that future generations will not have to endure the childhood he went through, because not everyone has international rugby to fall back on.

He said: "If I hadn't had rugby growing up I don't know what I'd have done.

"I could have been involved in crime or drugs, who knows? Because school wasn't great and rugby helped give me that avenue to do things."
With the monthly £2,200 fees that need to be paid to do the Dore programme, Kenny has called for extra funding so that the treatment is available to all children.

He added: "I don't want children to have to grow up like I did."
As well as enhancing the final years of his rugby career the programme has also opened new doors for the former Scottish place kicker, such as BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing, which is something he insists that before his treatment he would have found impossible.

"I couldn't hear the beat at all at first, but I gradually got used to it, but if I hadn't done the programme I could never have learnt any of the routines," he said.

At first the judges revelled in giving the Scot a hard time, but grew to like him during the course of the series and Kenny insists he enjoyed the good natured banter – in the end.

He said: "There were just a couple of comedians that liked to take the mickey out of you.

"At the end they gave me praise and that was the main thing, if they hadn't given me any praise by the end then I think I would have been a bit annoyed."

After entering the judges' world of dancing, Kenny predicted that Len Goodman would be the only one who'd stand a chance opposite him on the rugby field.

He said: "He likes his rugby, and he might tackle me back, but none of the others would have a chance, it would be too easy.

"Bruno would be quite funny, I couldn't imagine him on the rugby pitch but I think Craig would have quite enjoyed it, especially if he could play in second row!"

Sport is still where Kenny's passion lies and he is working hard to marry his new position with his former career by helping the fledgling Dore Sport section of the programme.

Dore Sport has already been adopted by a number of rugby clubs including Kenny's old club Wasps, and it is being used by some Premiership football clubs to help with spatial awareness, because it can still help players even if they don't have any learning difficulties.

He said: "Ian McGeechan, who was my coach at Wasps, noticed the difference in my play and he was keen to use some of the techniques.
"So then I realised I wanted to try and help, because there's a real chance in sport."

Kenny's 30 year story of inner torment and sporting excellence has been used to inspire countless members of the Dore programme and with the passion he has for his new vocation, in the future he could be remembered more for this work than his exploits on the pitch.



This story is from the University of Sheffield's student paper, the Steel Press. Visit their webpage for more stories.