Ireland and Leinster hooker Sean Cronin to retire at end of season
Sean Cronin has played 204 times for Leinster Rugby
©PA
Ireland and Leinster hooker Sean Cronin has announced that he will be retiring from professional rugby at the end of the ongoing season.
Cronin, a product of Munster Academy, made his senior debut with the club in 2005 before heading to Connacht in 2008. He switched to Leinster in 2011 and has racked up 204 appearances for them during which he helped them win two Heineken Champions Cup medals, a Challenge Cup medal and six PRO12/14 titles.
“After 14 years, I can confirm that this will be my last season playing professional rugby," he told Leinster's official website.
“It has been a unique journey for me starting off in Limerick many years ago, traveling to Galway to set my sights on playing professionally and finishing in Dublin where it’s been an incredible 11 years of so many great days in blue and green.
“I’ve been blessed to experience so many of those great days in my career.
“Like any profession you mix the highs with the lows, but it’s how I turned those low points around which is something I look back on with great pride and appreciation.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to do something I love for a living and this would not have been possible without the support of so many people along the way who believed in my potential and gave me the opportunity to succeed in the game."
He made his Ireland debut in 2009 and has gone on to feature in 72 Tests for Ireland. He was also part of the 2014 and the 2015 Six Nations-winning squads and the Grand Slam-winning squad of 2018.
“After 14 years, I can confirm that this will be my last season playing professional rugby.
“It has been a unique journey for me starting off in Limerick many years ago, traveling to Galway to set my sights on playing professionally and finishing in Dublin where it’s been an incredible 11 years of so many great days in blue and green.
“I’ve been blessed to experience so many of those great days in my career.
“Like any profession you mix the highs with the lows, but it’s how I turned those low points around which is something I look back on with great pride and appreciation.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to do something I love for a living and this would not have been possible without the support of so many people along the way who believed in my potential and gave me the opportunity to succeed in the game."
