By Paul Jones
Cardiff hooker Kristian Dacey has announced his retirement at the age of 33.
Dacey made over 200 appearances for Cardiff after joining them from Pontypridd in 2010 and won eight caps for Wales between 2015 and 2017.
He was also called up as cover for the British and Irish Lions’ tour of New Zealand in 2017.
“As the saying goes ‘all good things must come to and end’ and it is with great pride that I have decided to call time on my career as a professional rugby player,” Dacey wrote on Twitter.
“Being selected and playing for Wales is, and always will be, a huge honour and one of my proudest achievements.
“Playing against New Zealand after facing the Haka and beating South Africa in a sold out Principality Stadium are memories that will live with me forever.
“Being called into the British and Irish Lions tour in 2017 was an unbelievable experience.
“Training with and being coached by legends of the game was a priceless experience that I know I was unbelievably lucky to have had.”
https://twitter.com/BBCSportWales/status/1651280864259588122?s=20
Former Scotland captain and scrum-half Greig Laidlaw has also announced his retirement.
The 37-year-old began his career with Edinburgh before moving on to Gloucester and Clermont Auvergne. He currently plays for Japanese club Urayasu D-Rocks.
Laidlaw earned 76 caps, including 39 Test appearances as captain, and toured New Zealand with the 2017 British and Irish Lions.
He retired from international rugby after the 2019 World Cup in Japan and now plans to start a coaching career.
“We intend as a family to stay in Japan a while longer, but it is here I will finally hang up my playing boots,” Laidlaw wrote on Instagram.
“It is time to take everything I have learnt from a playing career I could only have dreamt of and move on into coaching.
“Throughout my playing career I have pushed myself, I have taken on new experiences, continuously learnt and immersed myself in different cultures.
“I have always enjoyed figuring out how to work as a team and how to get the best out of my team-mates, things I will take with me and continue to develop.
“I believe I have developed a really strong skillset in performing under pressure and leadership – the two areas that I have learnt most about and that have always fascinated me.”
Former Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw retires from rugby to move into coaching https://t.co/XNJGkWM29x
— Scotsman Sport (@ScotsmanSport) April 26, 2023
