Leicester Tigers prop Dan Cole will retire from rugby at the end of the season, the club confirmed on Tuesday.
Cole has played 565 games in his 19-year rugby career — including 118 England Test caps, making him the second-most capped men’s player — and he will add at least one more on Saturday in a clash against the Newcastle Falcons.
The Tigers are second in Premiership Rugby. The semifinals will take place on June 6-7, with the final set for June 14 at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham.
“It has not been an easy decision at all. I have been to-ing and fro-ing; however, I think this is the best time for me to finish playing,” Cole said in a statement.
“I believe, with Ben Youngs, Julián Montoya and others that are in and around my age, ending their time at the club at the end of the season, plus the new chapter next season with Geoff Parling coming in as head coach, it’s time for the club to kick-on and the right time for me to go.
“This is what I have done and what I have known every day for the past twenty years and so, the easy thing would have been to sign for a year and keep playing, but it’s the right thing to do. It is a really tough decision to make but I know it’s the right one.
“As you get older, physically, it’s definitely harder to carry on and, looking around the changing room, I am ten years older than most of the guys in there with me and that’s challenging as well. I don’t want to be the old guy, just sat around and hanging on to something for too long.”
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Source: espn.com