Edinburgh and Scottish international Hooker Stuart McInally has announced that he will retire from the game at the end of this season.
Playing for the club for 12 seasons, McInally has played 176 games for the Scottish capital as well as earning 47 test caps for Scotland.
The 32-year-old will now shift his focus towards becoming a commercial airline pilot having started flying back in 2013.
Speaking on his decision to make such a drastic career switch, McInally said: “It was really tough knowing this was the moment to move on.
“I always thought it would be really easy to retire because I’ve always known what I want to do after rugby – become a pilot – but stepping away from the club I love is massive, and it’s been a huge decision.
“While I’m obviously sad to be moving on, this decision has really been 10 years in the making,” he added.
“I started flying back in 2013 and a lot of work has gone in to get to this point. I’m now massively excited to pursue a career as a commercial airline pilot.”
Having initially begun his career in the backrow, McInally switched to Hooker in 2013 and has gone on to have a stellar career as a one club player (outside of a brief loan to Bristol) for Edinburgh.
Thanks to @EDI_Airport for hosting this one #AlwaysEdinburgh PART 1 https://t.co/XmcA0plzSt
— Stuart McInally (@McInallyStuart) April 19, 2023
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