Newcastle Falcons full-back Alex Tait to retire at end of season

Newcastle Falcons full-back Alex Tait has announced that he will be retiring from professional rugby at the end of the ongoing season.

Being an one-club man, Tait made his senior debut for the Falcons in 2007 and since then has racked up 265 appearances for them scoring 40 tries.

The 35-year-old is also on the fourth position in the club’s all-time appearance list behind fellow club legends Micky Ward, Will Welch and Tom May.

“I haven’t sought another contract anywhere, and everything’s just telling me it’s the right time," he told the club's official website.

“I’ve been doing this for 16 or 17 years, which I’ve absolutely loved, and it just got to the point where I wasn’t even hunting out a contract for next season. That kind of told me that I’d made up my mind, and I’m just ready for a change.

“Being a professional rugby player for 17 years isn’t great for your body, but I’ve been lucky enough not to have the decision forced upon me by injury or anything like that.

“You’ve got to make the leap sometime, and I just felt this was the best moment to set something up for me and my family over the longer term. I’ll give it a good go, but of course I’ll look back really fondly on my time with Newcastle Falcons.”

Newcastle Falcons are languishing at the bottom of the Gallagher Premiership table after managing just six wins from 18 matches.