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Ciara Griffin celebrates at the end of last week's victory over the USA. Dan Sheridan/INPHO
Farewell

Ireland captain Ciara Griffin to retire from international rugby

She is stepping away from the Irish team at the age of 27.

IRELAND CAPTAIN CIARA Griffin will retire from international rugby after this weekend’s Test match with Japan.

Griffin is only 27 and made her International debut in the 2016 Six Nations against Wales.

She was elevated to the captaincy in 2018, and will retire with 41 international caps after 

“It has been a childhood dream come true to play for my country”, said Griffin. “Being afforded the opportunity to captain the National Team has been the highest honour. It has been an incredible journey filled with many highs and lows and I am very grateful for all the life skills I have developed through my involvement in High Performance sport.

“It is a decision I have not come to lightly and after discussing it with my family ahead of the Autumn Tests, it is now time for me to turn my focus to my life outside of rugby and begin a new chapter. I would like to thank everyone for their unwavering support, and I look forward to supporting the team going forward.”

Outgoing Head Coach Adam Griggs also paid tribute to Griffin. “Ciara stood out to me right from our first training session as a genuine leader and someone that players respect and listen to. She wears her heart on her sleeve and it is that leadership style along with her passion and dedication to making people and the team better that has always been so effective.

“Ciara has led the way with her standards and what it takes to be a first class international, and I know in doing this has inspired so many young players to take up rugby and try to emulate her own journey. Irish Rugby will miss her, and we wish her all the best in retirement and the next chapter of her life.”

The IRFU also paid testament to Griffin, describing her as “a totemic figure for Ireland in the back row, demonstrating outstanding leadership qualities through her on-field performances and, off the pitch, in inspiring a new generation of players.” 

Earlier today it was confirmed the IRFU do not intend to make publicly available the full copies of two ongoing reports into women’s rugby in Ireland, commissioned following the senior team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup.     

“We don’t make the reports available and we haven’t done that in the past with the men’s game either,” said Philip Browne.

“What we will do is make the key findings available. People undertake contributions to reviews like this on the basis of anonymity and we have to respect that.” 

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