Veteran Munster flanker Alan Quinlan will announce his retirement in the coming weeks, it was confirmed today.
Quinlan, who joined Munster in 1996 and has played 204 times for the province, will bring the curtain down on a career that has earned him 27 Ireland caps at the end of the season.
The fiery blindside, who missed out on the 2009 Lions tour of South Africa because of suspension, can lay claim to a brace of Heineken Cup medals, plus Celtic Cup and Magners League medals among his prized possessions.
Quinlan’s season has been disrupted after dislocating his elbow against Connacht last December and will announce his retirement before the end of the current season.
Meanwhile, Jerry Flannery is in a race against time to be fit for the World Cup after undergoing calf surgery, while Dave Ryan is set to have surgery on his elbow.
In other news Tony McGahan, along with Alan Gaffney, have both been linked with the vacant coach’s job at Australian Super 15 side the Brumbies.
More immediate for McGahan though is his team selection for Saturday night’s game with Leinster with Felix Jones pressing hard for inclusion at full-back, in preference to Paul Warwick.
McGahan and Gaffney join former South African World Cup winning coach Jake White on the Brumbies’ shortlist.