Retired players: The best XV of aces to hang up their boots this season
Rugby NewsFriday, 04 May 2018 at 16:52
A NUMBER of legendary names hung up their boots this season, so who would make an XV of the best players to retire this year?
Brilliant players such as Adam Jones, Donncha O'Callaghan and Bryan Habana have all now decided to call time on their glittering careers.
There are also a few superstars who played starring roles in the successes for both club and country who have taken to the pitch for the final time as professionals.
Fullback: DANIELLE WATERMAN
England’s longest-serving women’s Test player announced her retirement from international rugby with immediate effect this week. The 33-year-old was an instrumental part of the Red Roses’ 2014 Rugby World Cup-winning squad, scoring in the final against Canada.
Winger: TOMMY BOWE
Bowe announced his retirement from rugby at the end of this season in a poem. The 69-times capped Ireland winger took to Twitter and said that he would be bringing an end to his playing career shortly.
Centre: AURELIEN ROUGERIE
The 37-year-old - who has scored 33 tries in 90 European appearances - will retire after 19 years at Clermont, captaining them to a 22-16 victory over Bath Rugby in the 2007 Challenge Cup final at Twickenham Stoop.
Centre: ROB HORNE
Former Wallabies centre and Super Rugby-winning Waratah Rob Horne was forced to retire after suffering nerve damage to his arm in a game in the UK Premiership. A statement from Horne’s club, Northampton Saints, said the 34-Test Australian had sustained “career-ending nerve damage to his right arm” and had made the decision to retire from rugby after consulting with neurologists in England.
Winger: BRYAN HABANA
Decided to hang up his boots following a number of injuries. Habana ends his international career with 124 caps for South Africa, having played at the 2007, 2011, and 2015 Rugby World Cup tournaments. He is the second-highest try-scorer in international rugby, with 67 tries.
Fly-half: FREDERIC MICHALAK
He will retire at the end of Europe's domestic season after saying his body has told him to stop. France's all-time leading points scorer with 436 points from 77 international caps played at three World Cups and won three Six Nations Grand Slams in 2002, 2004 and 2010.
Scrum-half: PAUL MARSHALL
The 32-year old has made 204 appearances for Ulster in a glittering career, scoring 24 tries, while he was also capped three times for Ireland, the last of which came in 2013.
Prop: ROB VICKERS
Vickers, 36, has played 260 times for Falcons, helping them reach the end-of-season Premiership play-offs for the first time in their history. He has spent his entire professional career at Kingston Park and was given a testimonial in September.
Hooker: DAVID PAICE
The Australia-born hooker, who won the first of eight England international caps in 2008, is to bow out 15 years on from joining the Irish academy. After making his Irish debut in 2003, he has since made 288 appearances for the club - more than any other Exiles player in the professional era.
Prop: ADAM JONES
The Wales legend will conclude an 18-year career at Harlequins with 95 international caps to his name and three Grand Slam titles. The next step in Jones’ career will see him join the forwards coaching staff at the Twickenham Stoop where he will assist Graham Rowntree.
Lock: DONNCHA O'CALLAGHAN
After a glittering 20-year career, the giant lock will hang up his boots at the age of 39. O’Callaghan amassed 98 Test caps, with 94 for Ireland and four for the British & Irish Lions, while he also represented the illustrious Barbarians on two occasions.
He captained the Lions in South Africa in 2009 and featured in three consecutive World Cups for Ireland between 2003 and 2011, and won the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2009.
O’Callaghan also had a decorated 17-year spell with hometown side Munster, where he won two Heineken Cup titles and two Magners League titles in his 268 appearances.
Lock: JASON EATON
Eaton has announced that he will retire from rugby at the end of the season as he struggles to recover from concussion. The former All Black suffered the injury playing against fellow French club Clermont early last month and has taken the decision to retire because his condition hasn't improved during his time on the sidelines.
Flanker: SAM WARBURTON
British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton has retired from rugby at the age of 29 after winning 79 Test caps. The former Wales captain has not played since leading the 2017 Lions to a drawn series against New Zealand.
Flanker: SAM JONES
Jones has retired on medical advice after failing to recover fully from an injury sustained at an England training camp. He fractured his fibula and suffered significant damage to his ankle while grappling with British and Irish Lion Maro Itoje during a judo session in October 2016.
Number 8: ALLY HOGG
The 35-year-old, who won the last of his 48 Scotland caps in 2009, has played an instrumental part in helping the Falcons reach the play-offs. His match-winning try at Leicester last week proved decisive in securing a semi-final spot for the first time.
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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