Former Scotland captain and scrumhalf Andy Nicol is to hang up his boots at the end of the season after failing to force his way into coach Ian McGeechan's World Cup plans.
Nicol, who turns 32 tomorrow, won 23 caps for Scotland over a ten-year period, his first against England in 1992 and his last coming against New Zealand at Murrayfield in 2001.
He led Scotland in seven internationals, including a famous Murrayfield victory in 2000 when the Scots denied England the Grand Slam.
Despite his international record, Nicol regards his greatest achievement as leading English club Bath to the European Cup in 1998, when they defeated Brive 19-18 in the final in Bordeaux to become the first British club to win the tournament.
Nicol also twice figured in British and Irish Lions squads, though both times it was a case of being in the right place at the right time.
He was on tour with Scotland in the South Pacific when he was called up as a late replacement in the 1993 tour of New Zealand and in 2001, when he was called up for bench duty for the final Test against Australia, he had been working as a rugby tour guide.
"I think the time is right for me to move on and further my career with the playing side of the game," Nicol said. "I am interested in moving into coaching, but I also have a number of business opportunities available to me".
He added: "Age hasn't really got anything to do with my decision because I feel I could play at the top level for another few seasons although in the last year I've picked up a few niggling injuries which have taken time to recover.
"I have few regrets in my career, but missing out on playing in the World Cup - one of my career goals when I started - for a fourth time has meant some of the spark and incentive for playing the game has gone".
McGeechan paid tribute to Nicol, saying: "He has been a great ambassador for Scottish rugby particularly from the period when the game became professional as he was a role model for the new generation of players".
AFP