Devin Toner, a second rower for Leinster and Ireland, has announced his retirement at the end of the season.
Toner, 36, made his Leinster debut in 2006 and holds the record for most appearances (276) in the province’s history.
With Leinster, he won four European Champions Cups, seven league crowns, and a Challenge Cup.
Toner earned his first of 70 Ireland caps in 2010, and he went on to win three Six Nations titles, including the Grand Slam in 2018.
Toner, who also represented Ireland at the 2015 World Cup said:
“There is never a right time I suppose and you would love to keep playing,”
“But I feel very lucky to have had the career that I have had and I am able to leave the sport that I love and the club that I love, in good health and on my own terms,”
Toner was left out of Ireland’s squad for the 2019 World Cup despite being a regular in the build-up to the competition, and he won the last of his 70 caps in the 2020 Six Nations.
David added:
“I have been around the club for long enough to understand that not everyone is that lucky, and I feel that the time is right now to focus on that next chapter and of course, spending more time with Mary, with Max and with Grace,”
“They, and Mary in particular, have put their lives on hold to enable me to perform and I couldn’t have done it without them. So now it’s about them and us all enjoying more time together.
“There have been some special moments with Ireland and the Grand Slam is obviously up there, but also maybe the game against South Africa in Cape Town in 2016. Being able to acknowledge my dad so soon after passing was very special to me.”
