Ireland international wing Luke Fitzgerald announced yesterday he will retire from professional rugby with immediate effect because of injury.
The 28-year-old’s provincial team Leinster said Fitzgerald had been advised to retire on medical grounds after suffering a neck injury in the PRO12 final against Connacht last month.
The 34-times capped player won a Grand Slam in 2009, a Six Nations in 2015 and three European Cup titles and toured South Africa with the 2009 British and Irish Lions, but has been hampered by injury throughout his career.
“I’ve had a wonderful rugby career, which makes it easy for me to move on to the next stage of my life,” Fitzgerald told www.leinsterrugby.ie. “It’s been an amazing journey in which I got to experience the highs and lows that come with professional sport, and I have learned a huge amount from each experience. I’m now building on that foundation through completing my business degree.
“It has been an honour and a privilege to represent my province, my country and the British and Irish Lions during my career, and I’m glad to finish my career as a ‘one club man’.
“The support I got while playing for all three teams during the good times and the tough times is something I will cherish and never forget for the rest of my life.”
Fitzgerald made his Leinster debut in 2006 and went on to make more than 150 appearances, scoring 32 tries. He helped the club win the European Cup three times and three PRO12 titles. He first featured for Ireland almost 10 years ago, following in the footsteps of his father Des, who also won 34 caps.
His final Test match appearance came in Ireland’s World Cup quarter-final defeat against Argentina last October, when he scored a try.
His retirement is the second in a week for Leinster following scrum-half Eoin Reddan’s decision to quit the game.

Lions skipper Whiteley to miss rest of Super Rugby campaign
Lions captain Warren Whiteley is expected to miss the remainder of the Super Rugby season with a shoulder injury, his club confirmed on Tuesday.
The number eight, who is captain of the Johannesburg-based side, was injured in South Africa’s 19-13 international test victory over Ireland in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
He will not require surgery but is expected to be sidelined for “about six weeks’, according to a statement from the union.
The Lions, who host the Sharks at Ellis Park on Saturday, have been the best of the South African sides in Super Rugby this season and currently top their conference with three matches to play before the knockout stage.

Sunwolves confirm Hammett’s departure
Japan’s Super Rugby franchise the Sunwolves formally announced Monday that coach Mark Hammett will leave the Tokyo-based club at the end of the season.
The 43-year-old, who has endured a troubled first season with the Sunwolves in the southern hemisphere’s premier club competition, will return to New Zealand to take up a role as assistant coach of the Otago Highlanders.
Hammett’s appointment by the Sunwolves was one of several to be made alarmingly late, giving the side very little time to prepare for the 2016 campaign.
As widely predicted, the Sunwolves have struggled badly, compiling a record of one win, one draw and 10 defeats.
They hit rock bottom in a 92-17 humiliation by South Africa’s Cheetahs in April, prompting criticism from former Japan coach Eddie Jones among others.
The Tokyo-based side joined the competition on the back of Japan’s astonishing performance at the World Cup where the Brave Blossoms won three pool games, including a 34-32 shock upset over two-time champions South Africa.
But delays bringing in players and coaching staff sabotaged the team’s preparations while Jones, now in charge of England, slammed the lack of depth in the Sunwolves squad as “embarrassing”.
Hammett, a former All Blacks hooker, served as interim coach for Japan’s recent Test victory over Canada and a pair of defeats by touring Scotland, the only team to beat them at the World Cup.
Jamie Joseph, currently in charge of the Highlanders, will take charge of Japan’s “Brave Blossoms” at the end of the Super Rugby season.