PRAISE FOR RETIRING ACE ANDY

ULSTER winger Andrew Trimble drew applause from Ireland players past and present yesterday after announcing his imminent retirement at the end of the season.

Trimble, who has played a record 229 times for the province since making his debut in 2005, also won 70 Ireland caps and scored 17 Test tries stretching back to his debut against Australia 13 years ago. The 33-year-old said it had been one of the toughest decisions of his life but quipped the fact his children Jack and Molly now leave him in their slipstream had hastened his departure.

In an open letter to fans, he joked: “There’s no way of stopping time and I see that each day in the lives of my two young children, who are now close to beating me over five metres.”

Referencing the quote, former Ireland captain Brian O’driscoll, who played alongside Trimble at the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, tweeted “what a line” followed by three applause emojis. Ireland wing Simon Zebo wrote: “Congrats on an amazing career. A legend on and off the pitch. Been a pleasure my brother x.”

Trimble said he had been “incredibly fortunate to have realised not one of my dreams but two of them – to play for Ulster and Ireland”. He added: “These have been some of the most fulfilling days of my life and I feel nothing but gratitude for them.”

Ulster official Bryn Cunningham described Trimble as a “class act, on and off the pitch”.