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Dusautoir to quit at end of the season

By Peter Thompson
Former France captain Thierry Dusautoir

Former France captain Thierry Dusautoir has announced that he will retire from rugby union at the end of the Top 14 season after 16 years as a professional.

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The 35-year-old Toulouse flanker won 80 caps for Les Bleus, with a record 56 of those coming as skipper.

Dusautoir claimed three French titles across a five-year period from 2008 to 2012 with Toulouse, as well as a European triumph in 2010 and an additional two league trophies at fellow Top 14 club Biarritz in 2005 and 2006.

An emotional Dusautoir, who was named World Player of the Year in 2011 after leading France to the World Cup final, made his announcement at a press conference on Wednesday.

“This sport has changed my life and I owe it a great debt. I never thought I’d go on to have the career that I did.” he said.

“If I’m emotional it’s because I’m finishing my rugby playing career at the end of the season,

“It’s a very special moment, charged with emotion for me but not sadness, as I’m going to be enthusiastically pursuing a new opening which I’ve begun to develop, a second life as a businessman.”

Watch the every match of the Top 14 streaming live on rugbypass.com, home of the best online rugby coverage including news, highlights, previews & reviews, live scores, and more!

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Bull Shark 33 minutes ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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