The 40-year-old, who most recently played for Worcester Warriors, said, "I cannot describe how it feels to have lived that dream for nearly all my life".

Stringer won 98 Ireland caps and lined out 230 times for Munster, winning a Grand Slam and two European Cups.

He scored a memorable try in Munster's first European Cup success, outfoxing the Biarritz defence in that 2006 final.

He described representing his country and province as his "proudest days on a rugby field", ones which "will remain with me for the rest of my life".

In the later years of his career, he played for five clubs in England; Saracens, Newcastle, Bath, Sale and Worcester.

He thanked those clubs for helping him extend his career, as well as his early coaches "who never saw my size as disadvantageous", his teammates, family and fans.

Here's his full statement:

"From the age of five all I ever dreamed of doing was playing rugby. I cannot describe how it feels to have lived that dream for nearly all my life.

"The journey has been an uncompromising obsession filled with memories I will cherish forever.

"To the coaches who never saw my size as disadvantageous, thank you. To my teammates who motivated and inspired me, thank you. To my parents and brothers, I could not have reached my goals without you.

"Thank you to my clubs in England - Saracens, Newcastle, Bath, Sale and Worcester who gave me an opportunity to continue playing the game I love.

"However, my proudest days on a rugby field came from wearing the red of Munster and the green of Ireland and will remain with me for the rest of my life.

"To those supporters, you are incredible people who stood by me and cheered for me no matter who I played for and for that, I will be forever grateful.

"Lastly, thank you to Debbie my wife, for the last 10 years when I faced some difficult decisions, you were there for me and backed me every step of the way. Here’s to the next chapter.

"Strings."