Newcastle Falcons great Will Welch, a one-club man who has spent 15 years playing for his home town team, will retire from rugby at the end of the current season.
The 33-year-old sits joint-second on the Falcons’ all-time appearance list, having done battle on 275 occasions.
Speaking on the announcement he said: “It’s meant the world to me for me to play for the team I used to come and watch when I was a kid.
“From being in the Falcons academy, signing professionally as a teenager and going on to spend my whole career here – the whole thing has just been a dream.”
The former RGS Newcastle pupil made his first-team debut as an 18-year-old in October 2008 and became the Falcons’ youngest ever captain when he took over the reins at the age of just 22.
Leading the club to promotion and forming the cornerstone of the Falcons’ pack for well over a decade, Welch explained his decision, saying: “I’ve had an ankle issue for the past couple of seasons which has been niggling me every week, and I just needed to get it sorted.
“It’s a six-month recovery which unfortunately takes me past the end of this season, but on the positive side it will fix it for life after rugby. I’ll at least be able to run around with my kids, and I’m retiring on my own terms.
“I’ve been thinking about retirement for a little while now, and it was probably going to come at some point in the near future anyway with the way my ankle was. Coupled with the fact I have a career opportunity outside of rugby, it just feels like the right time.
“I could potentially have tried to hold on for another year, but I don’t want to do it that way. This decision just means I’m doing it on my own terms and I know this is my last season, rather than having it forced upon me.”
Welch added: “I spoke to a number of people who have already retired from rugby, and a lot of them just had that moment where they were like ‘that’s me, I’m done’.
“It was similar for me, to be honest, and there was just a point where I knew it was the right call. I’m happy with my decision, I’ve loved my time here and now I’m looking forward to the next chapter of my life.
“Doing something fresh and different is a new challenge for me, and I’m excited about that. I’m doing my finance exams at the moment with a view to taking a job after that. I’ve had the chance to plan for this, and it’s much better that way rather than being pushed out or having an injury make the decision for me.”