Thierry Dusautoir to retire at end of season

Toulouse skipper and former France captain Thierry Dusautoir has announced that he will retire at the end of the season.

The 35-year-old captained France a record 56 times and won three Top 14 titles and a European crown with Toulouse, as well as two Top 14 titles with Biarritz in a  career that lasted 17 years. 

Dusautoir started his career with Bordeaux in 2001 and has since represented Colomiers and Biarritz, before settling at Toulouse in 2006.

He famously made 38 tackles against New Zealand in the 2007 Rugby World Cup and lead his side to the final the following year. He was named World Player of the Year in 2011.

“If I’m emotional it’s because I’m finishing my rugby playing career at the end of the season,” he told a press conference.

“It’s a very special moment, charged with emotion for me but not sadness, as I’m going to be enthusiastically pursuing a new opening which I’ve begin to develop, a second life as a businessman.

“The decision one day to come along and put on boots and a pair of shorts literally changed my life and turned a timid kid into one who had confidence in himself.