Alan Quinlan announces his retirement after conclusion of 2011 season
Alan Quinlan the former flanker of Ireland has announced the time frame of his retirement. Alan has played 27 matches for his country and he has a long career of domestic rugby.
He has been playing for Munster since 1996 and participated in more than 200 games for his club. He was a key man of the Munster to win Heineken cup in 2006 and 2008.
Quinlan made his debut for Munster in 1996 and he became most capped player for his club in 2010. He led the side in 2007 and claimed an upset victory over Ulster in Ravenhil in the Manager’s league. He gave the man of match performance against the Toulouse
a much better side than theirs to win the Heineken cup for the second successive time.
He remained the part of Irish ‘A’ side since 1998 to 2001 and was included in the national team in 1999. He made his test debut against the Romania during the same year but was dropped from the side shortly after that.
He was again called back to the squad and played Six Nation tournament in 2001. He was also the part of national side during the Rugby World Cup in 2003, played in Australia. He had a good tournament there as he scored couple of tries in the World Championship.
Quinlan was considered for the British and Lions in 2009 for the South African tour but unluckily he received a 12 weeks ban for gouging in Heineken Cup semi-final.
Alan was struggling with his elbow injury since few months and finally decided to say farewell to his club. He admitted the fact that it was a hard decision to take but inevitable at the same time.
He argued that, “Certainly I thought about different options of continuing to play, but I didn’t really spend a lot of time thinking about them.”
He added, “I’m going to be 37 in July. I certainly feel that if my heart was in it and my head was in it, I could go on and play and still be able to do a job for someone, whether it was Munster or someone else.”
The Munster coach Tony McGahan appreciated the flanker and said that he was a great player to work with.
The coach added, “Alan's longevity in what is a highly-attritional profession is a tribute to his dedication, application and durability.”
The coach paid a rich tribute to the star player and said the way he has played for 15 years was a great job. He has a lot to cheer about regarding his past and youngsters would follow him, he concluded.
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