THE GREAT NORTH RUN
Wales legend George bows out after 14 years but tells Dragons: Don’t do anything different in my final match.. let’s not get weird
GEORGE NORTH is hoping to go out on a high at Principality Stadium after calling time on his 14-year international career.
The 31-year-old dropped the bombshell on the same day Warren Gatland included him in Wales’ must-win game against Italy in the final round of the Six Nations.
At stake is to avoid the wooden spoon, which would be an imperfect end to one of the greatest Welsh careers of the professional era.
But while he choked back the tears in an emotional press conference three days out from his 121st and final cap, North (above) warned his team-mates to concentrate on the Italians rather than him.
Two years ago, the Azzurri ended a 36-match losing streak in the tournament with a last-gasp 22-21 win in the Welsh capital.
It was supposed to be a celebration as skipper Dan Biggar reached 100 caps and Alun Wyn Jones got to 150, but it ended in disaster.
North said: “I don’t want it to be any different to normal. I said that when I spoke to the squad, I said let’s not get weird.
“I asked them for nothing to change from what we always do. We go toe-to-toe and work as hard as we can to get better each day. It’s a mustwin game on Saturday and the focus should never be on one individual.
“We’ve got to keep doing what’s worked well for us and we’ve got to deliver the 80-minute performance we know we’re capable of.”
North, 6ft 4in tall and weighing just over 17 stone, burst on to the international stage as a teenager when he scored two tries on his debut playing against Bryan Habana in a game against the world champion Springboks. Since then he has gone on to win two Grand Slams (2012, 2019), picked up two more Six Nations titles (2013, 2021) and reached two World Cup semi-finals (2011, 2019) at his four global tournaments.
He will leave having overtaken Shane Williams as the highest Welsh scorer in the Six Nations with 23 tries and needs only three more on Saturday to match Brian O’driscoll’s tournament high of 26.
“It’s not been an easy decision for me, although it feels like the right time and it’s the best thing for me and my family,” said North (lifting Australia’s Israel Folau while on British and Irish Lions duty, below).
“I’ve been very fortunate to live a dream not many people get to do. And to be able to do it at home in front of a sold-out stadium with my family around me seems like the best way for me to start my next chapter.
“I didn’t think this day would come. I wished this day would never come. It was a real head and heart conversation that bounced back and forward a number of times.
“But, for me, it’s about being able to go out on my terms and being able to enjoy it like I have for every second of the last 14 years.
“I’m going to use this week and Saturday to really take it all in and to live my dream again one more time.”
North is one of four changes from the team defeated by France, with centre partner Nick Tompkins, flanker Alex Mann and tighthead prop Dillon Lewis also coming in.