Banahan set to retire at end of the campaign

GLOUCESTER Rugby star Matt Banahan has confirmed he will retire at the end of the current season.

The hulking outside back spent 12 years at Bath before heading to Kingsholm in 2018.

He has since made 32 Premiership appearances for the club, scoring nine tries. He is known for his trademark bruising carrying style and finishing ability, and is currently ranked sixth on the list of all-time top Premiership tryscorers with 71 to his name.

Banahan, who hails from St Helier in Jersey, also made 16 appearances for England between 2009 and 2011, scoring four tries.

He took to social media on Sunday to confirm that the current season would be his last.

The star posted on Twitter: “My journey is coming to a end, this will be my last season.

“I will enjoy what the next so many months have got for me.”

Among his highlights at Gloucester was scoring a dramatic late leveller on his return to his former club in September 2018 as he rescued a draw for the Cherry and Whites.

Banahan said in 2018 that he chose to head to Kingsholm because the club was “aiming for the stars” and he was not going to pass up the opportunity to be a part of the journey.

He said: “Sometimes a different opportunity, a little freshen up is good for me and I’m looking forward to the new challenge.

“I’ve got an opportunity with a great bunch of boys, new pitch, new everything with the badge, a new era.

“We can be the first group of many and start something great.”