‘I don’t want to be the old guy’ – England & Leicester prop Cole to retire

Dan Cole, a prop for England and the Tigers of Leicester, will retire at the end of the season.

The 38-year-old has made 118 appearances for his country, making him the second-most successful men’s player in English history.

Cole, who has won four Premiership titles with his boyhood club and twice toured with the British and Irish Lions, graduated from Leicester’s academy.

Cole claimed that Ben Youngs, his long-time team-mate for both club and nation, who just announced he would be hanging up his boots, had an influence on his decision to retire.

The Tigers’ full-back Mike Brown, who is a decorated 39-year-old, left after the season, while Julian Montoya, who is also a former Tigers and England team-mate, is leaving as head coach.

With the end of the season and the start of a new chapter for the club with Geoff Parling serving as head coach, “it’s time for me to leave,” he told the club website.

Physically speaking, I am 10 years older than most of the men in the changing room, which is challenging, and that’s because it’s harder to carry on as you get older.

Cole, who won three Test caps for the Lions between 2013 and 2017, played in the final of his 118 Test matches against England last year.

Only Youngs, who has 127 caps, has played for the men’s national team more than the prop, who missed more than three years without starting for England after their 2019 World Cup final defeat by South Africa.

When Cole took over as head coach of the Tigers in 2023, it was Steve Borthwick, the Tigers’ 2022 Premiership winner, who brought him to the international stage.

Cole then won his fourth World Cup, where he praised his performance in England’s semi-final defeat to South Africa as a lesson in redemption.

Overall, I have enjoyed my career but not every minute, which has made the good times even more special, Cole said.

Borthwick described playing alongside Cole as a “privilege” and later as a privilege.

The England head coach said, “He’s a brilliant team player as well as a rare talent.”

His devotion to both England and the Tigers of Leicester has been “absolutely outstanding.”

With Tigers next month on top and a quest for their 12th Premiership title, Cole is the latest player to aim high with them.

It’s obvious that the world is still in its infancy, Cole said.

After playing against the prop in the past against Australia and Argentina, Tigers head coach Michael Cheika, who is also leaving at the end of the season, described it as “super interesting” getting to know Cole in their year together.

Joe Heyes established himself as the first-choice tight-head under the Australian flag this year, making 13 league starts and starting just once.

He has a number of facets, Cheika told BBC Radio Leicester.

As a podcast host with Youngs, he says, “He loves his footy but he is a smart guy in other areas as well, as you can see from what he is building.” He approaches the game both in terms of his strategy and his plan of attack.

“But he still possesses the joy and emotion of playing for the club or being a part of England, and he uses that as inspiration to improve.”