“This is my last” – Five players who are reportedly hanging up their boots in 2022

The former France No.8 has announced that he will retire from rugby at the end of the season. The 35-year-old scored ten Test tries for France, the last of which came against Wales in the 2019 Guinness Six Nations.

With 82 caps, he is level with Imanol Harinordoquy, his long-time rival for the No.8 jersey, as France’s tenth most capped player of all time.

He said: “I saw Christophe (Urios – the Bordeaux-Bègles coach) a few days ago to speak to him. The coach said he thought I looked good but I didn’t want to take the risk of doing a season too many.

“He understood. I will be 36 in February, my body and my head agree that now is the time. I’ve also found what I want to do afterwards. With my wife Maïlis, we want to start an organic goat farm and it’s time to start that project.”

The Number 8 announced he will retire from rugby at the end of the season back in September but is still holding out hope for one final swansong in the Azzurri jersey.

Parisse has a strong case to be considered Italy’s greatest rugby player of all time – having been a stalwart of the back row since making his international debut back in 2002.

His 142 Test caps trail only Wales’s Alun Wyn Jones and New Zealand’s Richie McCaw in the all-time list, while he also played 69 Guinness Six Nations matches between 2004 and 2019.

The 2021/22 campaign could be the last for the Ireland playmaker, whose failure to make the 2021 Lions squad is a blow he doesn’t think he’ll overcome.

“I’ve had lots of setbacks in my career and now it’s up to me to bounce back this season. Not that I’m over it. I don’t think I’ll ever get over it but I’ve come to terms with it. I accepted it a long time ago that it wasn’t going to be,” Sexton said at a MACE press event.

“I’ll be honest, over the summer when you get a lot of free time and you don’t have games to focus on and you do have a lot of time to think, I got drawn into thinking ‘Is this my last (season)?’ And I’m trying to get away from that,” he added.

“But rugby is such a tough game, if you are planning too far ahead even as a 23 or 24-year-old, one injury in training or in a match can finish you. So I’m trying to focus on the here and now and we’ll make those decisions later on in the year.”

The 37-year-old has been named in the Premiership Team of the Season every year since signing for the club, and had been tipped to retire in 2021. However, he signed a one year extension, which means it's now very likely that he will hang up his boots at the end of the 2021/22 Premiership season.

The 36-year-old was forced off the field during last Saturday’s defeat against New Zealand and requires shoulder surgery once again.

“I don’t think he’ll be available for the Six Nations,” revealed Wales boss Wayne Pivac.

“You learn a lot about the worth of people when they’re not there. I think a lot of people take Alun Wyn for granted – he’s always been there and got seniority.

“That leadership is really important. The essence is on others to step up and take that role on.”

Jones, who is only contracted with the Ospreys until the end of the season, is thought to be seriously considering his future but is determined to pull on the red jersey of Wales at least one more time.

The concern is that his shoulder, which he has now dislocated twice in a few months, would become a recurring injury that would only get worse if he continues to play.