Ireland legends to answer one last call

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Three of Ireland’s most celebrated players will retire from international rugby after the 2025 Six Nations.

Record caps holder Cian Healy, last year’s Six Nations title-winning skipper Peter O’Mahony and fellow Test centurion Conor Murray will call it quits at the conclusion of the championship, they announced on Thursday.

They are on course for what could be a fairytale ending to their Test career with an unprecedented third successive Six Nations title. The Irish have recorded three victories from three Tests in this year’s tournament, though they host biggest rivals France next Saturday.

They round off their campaign against Italy in Rome on 15 March.

While loose forward O’Mahony remains a starter both prop Healy and scrumhalf Murray have added invaluable support off the bench for several years as Andrew Porter and Jamison Gibson-Park respectively replaced them in the first-choice XV.

The trio have been pivotal figures in the success the Irish have enjoyed under Joe Schmidt and then his successor Andy Farrell, winning the Six Nations title five times including the Grand Slam twice since 2014.

“It goes without saying that Peter, Cian and Conor are legends of not just Irish rugby, but Irish sport, and have each made a significant contribution to the success of Irish rugby for more than 15 years,” said performance director David Humphreys in an IRFU statement.

“There is still so much to play for with Ireland and their provinces and we will mark their careers at an appropriate time in the near future.”

Interim Ireland coach Simon Easterby, who is standing in for Farrell as he focuses on the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia, knows the trio well as he has been part of the Ireland coaching set up for the golden era too.

Easterby, who has also shared in the major disappointment for all of them – the failure to get past the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals (2015, 2019 and 2023) – said it had been a “privilege” to work with them.

“They have each played a huge role in the success of Irish rugby over the course of their careers and they continue to inspire their teammates around them,” he said.

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“Watching how openly they engage with players in their own position and continue to add value around the set-up is testament to their collective character and they are also adding real value on the pitch.”

Both 37-year-old Healy, who has 136 caps and broke Brian O’Driscoll’s previous record last November, and 112-times capped O’Mahony, 35, will retire from all rugby at the end of the season.

Three-time Lions tourist Murray, who forged the at one time most feared halfback partnership with Johnny Sexton, will be 36 come season-end but is due to play for a club outside Ireland.

For Healy and O’Mahony, retirement should not be a problem as the former has established himself as a renowned knife-maker and the latter is almost as well known for his gardening skills.

© Agence France-Presse

Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images

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