Dan Biggar says losing Justin Tipuric and Alun Wyn Jones is a major blow to Wales' World Cup hopes.
Tipuric and Jones announced their sudden retirements from Test rugby 80 minutes apart on Friday afternoon, leaving Warren Gatland without two of his most experienced players heading into the tournament in France.
Many would have expected Jones and Tipuric to treat this year's World Cup as an international swansong, with a number of senior stars - including Biggar - seen as likely to call it a day on the Test stage at the end of the year.
Few would have predicted both Tipuric and Jones calling it a day just weeks after being named in Gatland's extended 54-man World Cup training squad, which is due to assemble next week.
Speaking after Toulon's Challenge Cup final triumph over Glasgow in Dublin, Biggar said he was shocked by the news as he insisted he had no plans to follow his former Ospreys team-mates into international retirement ahead of the World Cup.
"It is a huge blow for us... two incredibly talented players who have been great servants," the fly-half told AFP after the 43-19 win at the Aviva Stadium. "We will see now for the World Cup preparations and I am sure they will be looking on and laughing at us working hard in the training camps in Switzerland and Turkey.
"I spoke to Tips just before the announcement, he gave me the heads up to be fair because I played with him for a long time. I couldn't quite believe it.
"With Al, there had been a few rumours and bits and pieces [about his retirement]."
Biggar, who was forced off early during Toulon's win, added: "It is just another day in Welsh rugby."
The British and Irish Lions fly-half had departed the action in Ireland after just four minutes having failed a head injury assessment.
"I feel fine," said Biggar. "It is just one of those things, especially in this day and age any sort of knock you have to come off but it will be fine.
"This was important for us, it was huge for us as a club and the fans. We are fully aware we want to be competing for bigger honours but this club has never won this competition before and we have not won any silverware since 2015. It was important for us to win something and hopefully this is a good building block."
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