Eoin Reddan to hang up his boots after final South Africa Test

Ireland's Eoin Reddan has made the decision to retire and move away from professional rugby entirely. The Connacht, Munster, Wasps and Leinster scrumhalf will end his career after Ireland's final Test match against South Africa in Port Elizabeth on Saturday and begin working in the Aviation industry.

The 35-year-old, who won Heineken Cup medals with both Wasps (one) and Leinster (two) enjoyed a 10 year international career, making his debut in 2006 against France in the Six Nations Championship.

If Reddan is given a run by Joe Schmidt from the bench this weekend against the Springboks in what would be his final Test match with Ireland, he will have earned 71 caps. He featured in three World Cup campaigns spanning 2007, 2011 and 2015 and also in Ireland's recent success in the Six Nations Championship under Schmidt.

“To win European and domestic honours with both Wasps and Leinster has been fantastic and to taste Six Nations success with Ireland over the past three seasons has been incredible,” said Reddan.

“Now is the right time to commit to the next chapter of my life and take on a new challenge. I have a fantastic opportunity in a dynamic industry that will bring a new set of challenges and opportunities for myself and my family. I am grateful to Leinster and the IRFU for supporting my decision to take up this opportunity.”

A highly regarded player, Reddan began his rugby career at Limerick’s Old Crescent RFC and went on to represent Munster at Schools and U19s level. He played for Old Crescent in the All Ireland League before making the switch from Munster to Connacht in 2001. He re-joined Munster in 2003 for two seasons before joining London Wasps in 2005 where he won a Guinness Premiership title. He signed for Leinster at the start of the 2009-10 season.