Sad endings to great rugby careers

It’s quite sad to see so many rugby legends ending their careers with an injury at this Rugby World Cup, rather than going out in a blaze of glory.

Sergio Parisse has not officially retired from rugby, nor was his Rugby World Cup cut short by an injury, but he wasn’t selected for Italy’s final game because he’d only just managed to recover in time to play the key game against Ireland the week before.

It’s highly unlikely he’ll be around for another Rugby World Cup and it may well be time for this true icon of Italian rugby to hang up his boots… at least at international level.

Wycliff Palu is another who has not officially retired from international rugby but at the age of 33 (and with the plethora of loose forward talent coming out of Australia) it’s unlikely that this Wallabies stalwart will be able to hold down a place in the squad – let alone the starting XV.

Perhaps Palu should call time on a great career rather than tarnish his reputation by playing on for too long.

Tony Woodcock is the All Blacks’ most capped prop of all time and would have played his 118th game for New Zealand if not for a hamstring tear he suffered in the victory over Tonga. A sad end to a 13-year international career with the All Blacks, but Woodcock will surely go down as one of the greatest props of the modern era.

Let’s hope Woody is remembered for the memorable try he scored in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final rather than his disappointing finish to the 2015 edition.

Namibia’s skipper Jacques Burger called time on his international career after he picked up a concussion nine minutes into Namibia’s penultimate game against Georgia and was forced to miss the final game against Argentina. Burger was playing in his third Rugby World Cup and equalled Hugo Horn’s Namibian record of 11 Rugby World Cup appearances.

Jean de Villiers will be remembered as a great captain for the Springboks but he’ll also be remembered for his Rugby World Cup curse. De Villiers was dogged by bad luck at every World Cup he played in.

In 2007 he tore a bicep in the opening game and went home. In 2011 he popped a rib in the opening game against Wales but did manage to return (from the bench) in the Springboks’ final pool game against Samoa. However, his tournament still ended in great disappointment as South Africa bowed out in the quarter-final after a defeat against the Wallabies.

Now in 2015, after a long battle to recover from a knee injury in time for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, de Villiers’ curse struck one more time when he fractured his jaw in the Springboks’ second game of the tournament. De Villiers was always planning on retiring from international rugby after this World Cup but it was his great dream to make up for all his bad luck of the past. He’ll probably always wonder what could have been.

On Sunday, Irish skipper Paul O’Connell was stretchered off the field just before half-time in Ireland’s win over France in their final pool game. O’Connell had said before the tournament started that he would be retiring from international rugby after the 2015 World Cup.

This injury means that he will not play a part in what could be Ireland’s greatest rugby achievement. Very sad when you consider how much blood, sweat and tears O’Connell has shed to get Ireland into this strong position. They have an excellent chance of making the semi-finals of a Rugby World Cup for the first time in their history.

O’Connell will be joining Toulon to continue his rugby career, but his Test career is over just before what could have been his finest hour.

Spare a thought for these rugby greats who all ended glittering rugby careers in a rather unsatisfactory and sad manner. Let’s sincerely hope we’ve seen the last career-ending injury of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.