'I don't want to be the old guy' - England & Leicester prop Cole to retire

England and Leicester Tigers prop Dan Cole will discontinue astatine nan extremity of season.

The 38-year-old is nan 2nd astir capped men's subordinate successful England history, having made 118 appearances for his country.

Cole, who besides doubly toured pinch nan British and Irish Lions, came done Leicester's academy and has played 340 elder games and won 4 Premiership titles pinch his boyhood club.

Cole said his determination to discontinue had been influenced by Ben Youngs, his long-time team-mate for nine and country, who precocious announced he would beryllium hanging up his boots.

With dressed up 39-year-old Tigers full-back Mike Brown besides retiring, skipper Julian Montoya moving on astatine nan extremity of nan play and erstwhile Tigers and England team-mate Geoff Parling returning to nan nine arsenic caput coach, nan front-rower believes "this is nan champion clip for maine to decorativeness playing".

"I believe, pinch Ben Youngs, Julian Montoya and others that are successful and astir my property ending their clip astatine nan nine astatine nan extremity of nan season, positive nan caller section adjacent play pinch Geoff Parling coming successful arsenic caput coach, it's clip for nan nine to kick-on and nan correct clip for maine to go," he told nan club website, external.

"As you get older, physically it's decidedly harder to transportation connected and, looking astir nan changing room, I americium 10 years older than astir of nan guys successful location pinch maine and that's challenging arsenic well.

"I don't want to beryllium nan aged guy, conscionable sat astir and hanging connected to thing for excessively long."

Cole, who won 3 Test caps among nan 14 games he played for nan Lions successful 2013 and 2017, played successful nan the past of his 118 England Tests past autumn.

Only Youngs - pinch 127 caps - has featured for nan men's nationalist squad much than nan prop, who went much than 3 years without playing for England aft their World Cup last conclusion by South Africa successful 2019.

It was Steve Borthwick, Tigers' 2022 Premiership-winning caput coach, who recalled Cole to nan world shape erstwhile he took complaint successful 2023.

He went connected to return Cole to his 4th World Cup, wherever nan guardant said his capacity successful England's semi-final exit against South Africa was a instruction successful redemption.

"Overall, I person loved my profession but haven't loved each minute, which has allowed maine to admit nan bully times moreover more,"- said Cole.

Borthwick said it was a "privilege" to play alongside Cole and later coach him.

"He's not only a superb squad player, but besides a uncommon talent," said nan England caput coach.

"His loyalty and work to some England and Leicester Tigers person been genuinely outstanding."

Cole is now nan latest subordinate looking to decorativeness connected a precocious pinch Tigers adjacent month, pinch nan nine second successful nan table and chasing a 12th Premiership title.

"It's clear it is not complete yet," Cole said.

"This is astir finishing my profession astatine nan extremity of our season. There is still hopefully a fewer much games near for maine to play this season."

Tigers caput coach Michael Cheika, who is besides leaving astatine nan extremity of nan season, said it had been "super interesting" getting to cognize Cole successful their twelvemonth together aft starring Australia and Argentina sides against nan prop successful nan past.

Under nan Australian this season, Cole has made 13 convention appearances and started only once, pinch Joe Heyes establishing himself arsenic first-choice tight-head.

"He is simply a multi-layered person," Cheika told BBC Radio Leicester.

"He loves his footy but he is simply a smart feline successful different areas arsenic well, arsenic you tin spot pinch what he is building [as a podcast big pinch Youngs]. He is rather logical and calculating pinch really he approaches nan crippled and besides really he approaches what he is doing next.

"But he is still capable to bring nan emotion and nan joyousness of being portion of nan nine aliases portion of England and uses that arsenic information to make him better.

"What tin you say? The magnitude of Test matches and nine matches he has played for Leicester would opportunity it all."