Ireland and Leinster prop Lindsay Peat has announced her retirement from international rugby with immediate effect.
The Dubliner has called time on her six-year international career as new coach Adam Griggs looks to rebuild following the team’s failure to qualify for this year’s World Cup.
41-year-old Peat came into the game relatively late, having represented Ireland in basketball and Dublin in Gaelic football before making the move to the oval ball game in 2015.
The Artane native played underage soccer for her country during a varied sporting career that also saw her captain Ireland in basketball and win an All-Ireland with Dublin in 2010.
She won two basketball National Leagues and a National Cup with DCU Mercy before focusing on rugby.
Peat was called up to the international side within months of taking up the sport with Railway Union and two years later, in 2017, she was named International Player of the Year.
She made her 38th and final appearance in green in November in a win over the USA at the RDS.
Peat joins former captain Ciara Griffin in retiring from international rugby following a disappointing year that saw Ireland finish third in World Cup qualifying.
While she has bowed out of the international stage, Peat will continue to play domestic rugby with her club, Railway Union in Sandymount.
“To write a statement or to not has been a question on my mind but today it feels right to simply say thank you,” wrote Peat.
“I always dreamed of becoming a professional athlete, a sportsperson, and I have on the greatest level possible fulfilled that dream. I still feel the need to pinch myself to believe it.
“The last six years have given me the chance to sing my beloved Amhrán na bhFiann, to sing Ireland’s call, to to meet the President of Ireland, to play in a home World Cup.
“In 38 appearances I have scored tries for my country and given away a few too! I have laughed. I have cried. I really did go out and ‘break a leg’!
“I have played in front of thousands of fans against some of the best players in the world. I have signed autographs and been on the telly.
“I have had tough conversations and I have had pleasant ones where I have met the most amazing people who have been interested to know more about me.
“These past few years I have lived my dream and played for my country: I played for Ireland.
“Though I am simply a single thread within a shining green jersey, I hope that I leave a bit of a legacy in the fabric and that my beloved No.1 jersey is better for me having worn it.”
