Elwood decides to call time

News: Eric Elwood has announced he is to retire at the end of the season after a long and distinguished career.

And the 36-year-old is hoping to sign off by inspiring the province to their first trophy in almost a century and a quarter of trying.

The former Irish international will retire at the end of his 17th season with Connacht, but he holds one major ambition before then. The first leg of the European Challenge Cup semi-final against Sale Sharks on Saturday week will be his last big day out at the Sportsground, where he made his debut on October 14th, 1989, against Ulster.

Since then he has played 167 games for Connacht and remains a key part of Michael Bradley's side as they bid to go one better than last season when they bowed at the semi-final stage when defeated by eventual winners NEC Harlequins.

"It has been a brilliant and highly enjoyable journey but the time has come to call it a day. I thought about it hard and long at the end of last season but I felt I had it in me to give it one more season.

"But now I realise that it is time to step down. There is the opportunity to finish on a high and we will be giving it everything against Sale Sharks in the semi-final.

"They are a class team but we have been preparing for this day for a long time and have left nothing undone in our bid to reach the final. It would, no doubt, be a great way to sign off," he said.

Elwood's announcement that Saturday week will be his last major game at the Sportsground will guarantee that the "full house" signs will go up.

Already his Connacht colleagues are organising a testimonial dinner for Elwood next September but for now the former Irish outhalf is concentrating fully on the task ahead.

Elwood was a pivotal figure as Connacht made their name in European rugby, and along the way there have been countless memories.

"My debut that day against Ulster is an undoubted highlight but it was the match a few weeks later against the All-Blacks that was the highlight.

"I was just 19 years of age and they came to Galway as world champions. My career was only taking off at the time and to find yourself playing against the best team in the world was a thrill.

"But we have had many great days with Connacht. We were the first Irish province to win a competitive match on French soil when we defeated Begles Bordeaux under Warren Gatland in the 1997/'98 season when we went on to reach the European quarter-finals.

"Along the way there were some great wins as we took some big scalps. The emergence of the Celtic League gave us further exposure and it was great the way we stepped up to the mark.

"The European campaign for the last two seasons has been superb, the matches against Harlequins were a highlight and it is great to be back at this level again this season.

"An awful lot of hard work has gone in to the game in the west in recent years and it has been an honour to be part and parcel of it," said Elwood.

Elwood, who played in the FAI Cup with his native Mervue United in Galway city and who played as a wing forward under John Tobin's Galway in the 1987 Connacht senior football championship, first cut his teeth with Galwegians whose Crowley Park ground was just over the wall from where he lived.

The arrival of Warren Gatland at Galwegians was a key factor in his development and on his advice he went to New Zealand for a year to play with Waikato, where Gatland will take up the coaching role at the end of this season when he leaves Wasps.

"That year in New Zealand brought my game on a lot and after I returned I moved to Dublin to play for Lansdowne for a few years.

"However, when the game went professional I returned to Galwegians and Connacht and never looked back since," he said.

By then Elwood was an established international, making his debut in Cardiff in 1993 when he won the first of his 35 caps.

"My international debut remains one of the highlights. Ireland had not won in something like 12 Tests and we carved out a win over there and then defeated England at Lansdowne Road the next day out. It was a great start.

"Representing your country is the ultimate honour for any player and I was privileged to go and play in two World Cups for Ireland," he said.

Elwood is undecided about his future career path but has not ruled out a coaching role. He has completed his Level 2 coaching course and is due to shortly undergo his Level 3 qualifications.

"I will decide at the end of the season where things will go from here. The important thing at this stage is to concentrate on playing and doing whatever I can to help Connacht overcome Sale Sharks," added Elwood, who made his 100th appearance for Connacht in Narbonne three years ago and topped the 150 mark against Newcastle Falcons during the summer.