Joe Ansbro, the centre for the Aviva Premiership Rugby Football Union club the London Irish and the Scotland national team has been forced to call time on his professional rugby career after being unable to recover from a neck injury that he sustained during a pre-season friendly for his club against Munster last August. The Scottish international announced his decision will be effective immediately as he hopes his club and country are able to find a suitable replacement for him in due time.
The 27 year old who was born in Glasgow, became the first ever black player to don the navy blue of Scotland when he made his debut in Tests against South Africa back in 2010, going on to make 11 appearances for his country since then. His last appearance for Scotland came against Samoa as he scored a try during the team’s tour of Australasia. The London Irish underwent surgery and began training at the end of 2012 and was hoping to regain full fitness by the time the new season kicked off but now, he has been advised by his doctors to call it quits on medical grounds.
It has been revealed that the nature of his injury was such that even if he felt fit enough to continue, he would have found it extremely difficult to gain the adequate insurance cover. Speaking on his retirement, Ansbro stated that he was fortunate enough to have been able to play professional rugby for so long, both for the Northampton Saints as well as the London Irish.
Brian Smith, the Director of Rugby at the club stated that the news of his retirement came as a shock and hailed his influence at the club, even when he was injured, adding that he wished him all the best for the future.