Ex-wales And Lions Flanker Lydiate To Retire For Coaching Role

Dan Lydiate, who won 72 Wales caps and played 3 Tests for nan British and Irish Lions, is to discontinue astatine nan property of 37.

The flanker will play his last crippled connected European ungraded arsenic Dragons spell to his erstwhile Welsh master club, Ospreys, connected Saturday, 26 April (15:00 BST), earlier moving into a coaching role.

Lydiate made his Wales debut successful 2009 and made 1 commencement astatine nan 2023 World Cup earlier a last world quality for Wales against nan Barbarians.

He besides featured successful nan 2012 and 2019 Six Nations Grand Slams nether Warren Gatland, and nan 2011 and 2015 World Cup campaigns.

Lydiate was a cardinal portion of nan Lions' victorious circuit of Australia successful 2013, starting nan 2nd and 3rd Tests aft coming disconnected nan chair successful Brisbane, and starring nan midweek side.

Born successful Salford to a Welsh mother, Lydiate was brought up pinch a farming inheritance successful Llandrindod Wells, earlier joining what was past nan Newport Gwent Dragons' academy.

His master profession could person been ended earlier it had hardly begun erstwhile he collapsed his cervix successful a European lucifer successful Perpignan.

It was not nan only clip he had to flooded a awesome wounded setback, pinch a superior knee wounded successful February 2021 appearing to awesome nan extremity of his Wales hopes, only for Lydiate to retrieve and thief his state to a first ever triumph successful South Africa nan pursuing year.

Renowned for his protect chop-tackling abilities, nan softly spoken Lydiate formed portion of a formidable backmost statement for overmuch of his world career, mostly astatine blind-side flanker alongside Taulupe Faletau, Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric.

He besides captained his state against Italy and England successful 2016 and Georgia successful 2017.

At nine level he moved from Dragons to Racing Metro successful 2013, earlier returning from Paris a twelvemonth later to subordinate nan Ospreys, for whom he made 90 appearances.

He returned to nan Gwent region 10 years aft departing, processing his farming profession alongside his rugby, and will tally retired successful a Dragons garment for nan 106th clip astatine nan Swansea.com stadium.

"I've sewage a batch of respect for DL, he's a man of grace and humility and he useful hard," said Dragons caput coach Filo Tiatia, a erstwhile playing workfellow astatine nan Ospreys.

"A British and Irish Lion, played for Wales, had a nasty wounded and came done to go nan man he is now.

"He's an awesome proud father, he's connected nan workplace and he's been awesome to activity with.

"We're really looking guardant to seeing him going backmost to nan Ospreys connected nan weekend, bask nan moments astatine his aged stomping crushed and time off immoderate fingerprints connected his past game. Then we've sewage a scheme for his coaching role."

Lydiate has already been helping pinch coaching nan breakdown area for nan Dragons.

"I can't speak highly capable of Dan, he's a awesome master and much importantly a awesome person, personification whom I've grown adjacent to complete nan past 2 years," said nine skipper Angus O'Brien.

"He's awesome successful nan environment, he's sewage a wealthiness of acquisition and has really brought it guardant for nan younger boys, truthful it'll beryllium astonishing if he's astir arsenic a coach."

"When he went retired to Perpignan and collapsed his neck, it looked for illustration a career-ender arsenic a young lad truthful to spot him travel backmost from that and activity his measurement up, his performances nether Gatland and pinch nan Lions were perfectly unbelievable," said erstwhile Wales team-mate Ian Gough.

"He's rather quiet, he lets his rugby do nan talking but he's a genuine chap and it's awesome to spot him person that profession aft that horrific injury. He had different wound successful 2021 erstwhile it looked for illustration his profession had stalled, and had a knee wounded wrong nan first 4th of nan game, but it's nan people of a bloke to travel backmost again.

"Every different week he'd get stitches, he was perfectly wherever nan explosives were going off. He came done against adversity erstwhile he was written disconnected truthful galore times, dusted himself backmost down and put successful immense performances."