Au Revoir, Arrivederci, Hywl Fawr, Goodbye...
At close of business on Friday, 40 Test players boasting a collective stack of 1,368 caps had been left to perform one last ritual, that of hanging up their boots.
Two would have done so with the utmost reluctance, a pair of French veterans denied a seven-day stay of execution to bow out on a stage worthy of their careers. Instead Louis Picamoles and Francois Trih-Duc had no option but to ride off into the sunset far from the madding crowd of Paris on Top 14 final day.
Bordeaux’s semi-final stumble at Montpellier destroyed any hope of a fairytale finish for the old Grand Slamming No.8 of 12 years ago and the stylish grandson of a Vietnamese immigrant. Counted out of Friday’s final against Castres at the Stade de France, the old couple found themselves stuck in a cul-de-sac with nowhere to go. For them, like the rest, their seasons have come and gone.
As members of the first generation weaned in a professional environment, they would have counted their blessings at having been able to go so far down an ever more hazardous road for so long. Others have had no choice but to quit for the sake of their health.
James Davies is a striking example, forced by concussion to finish ahead of his time after playing his last match for Wales at 30. The grim prognosis over risking further blows to the brain made any comeback impossible.
While the indestructible Sergio Parisse rolls on at Toulon next season into his 39th year and Leicester scrumhalf Richard Wigglesworth sets new endurance levels in his 40th, others have been nowhere near as fortunate.
Dan Leavy, among the very best of Leinster’s battery of outstanding back row forwards, made ridiculously short work of fearsome competition to break into the Ireland team at 21. A Grand Slammer at 23, he soared ever upwards only to smash a knee at 25.
After a two-year struggle, Leavy called it quits two months ago at 27, leaving behind an invincible record: Eleven internationals, eleven wins. “Unfortunately,’’ he said. “I can’t do any more or ask any more of my body.’’
Dillon Hunt, a one-Test All Black, beat Leavy to it by a few months, the victim of something potentially more serious. A series of blows to the head finished the back row at the age of 26.
“At its worst, it’s headaches, just being in a fog where you can’t think,’’ he said. “It’s just not worth it for me any more.’’
Another concussion victim, Edinburgh centre George Taylor, abandoned his career during the season at the age of 25. Ospreys hooker Ifan Phillips, whose father Kevin played with distinction for Wales, did likewise in more traumatic circumstances, losing a leg in a motor cycle accident.
Others got out while the going was still good, in Hallam Amos’ case to put his medical career ahead of aspirations for another World Cup. He makes the team ahead of Mike Brown if only because the former England full-back clings to the hope of finding another club following his release from Newcastle.