Kelly calls it a day

ONE of Munster rugby’s unsung heroes has called time on a remarkable professional career.

John Kelly yesterday announced his retirement after 11 years involved in top class rugby; a career that yielded him an AIB League medal with Cork Constitution, Celtic Cup and Heineken Cup medals with Munster and 17 international appearances for Ireland.

The 33-year-old winger/centre enjoyed remarkable success after making his debut for Munster against Cardiff in 1997. He went on to play 153 times for Munster and is second only to Anthony Foley in terms of appearances for the province.

He is the sixth most-capped player in the history of the Heineken Cup (67) behind Foley, John Hayes, Peter Stringer, Fabien Pelous (the Toulouse captain) and Ronan O’Gara.

Kelly racked up 14 tries in European competition, including the remarkable late score against Gloucester at Thomond Park in 2003, a the “Miracle Match” when Munster needed a 27-point win to qualify for the quarter finals of the Heineken Cup.

They won 33-6 when Ronan O’Gara converted Kelly’s 78th-minute try.

He was one of the most durable of players and yesterday admitted that he was lucky in terms of injury.

“In many respects, I was in the right places at the right times. I never really suffered badly from injury when others did, and I really had about 10 years of uninterrupted activity; the injuries I suffered were relatively short-term ones,” he said.

Kelly admitted that he wasn’t the high profile type to put him in the public eye like others.

“I wasn’t the kind of guy to throw 30-yard passes or do the flamboyant things on the pitch. The only thing I judged myself on was to be able to do the basics well. I prided myself in that, as well as work rate.

“Along the way, I’ve had a crack at Ireland as well and have been on a few overseas tours (to New Zealand, Australia, Tonga and Samoa), as well as a World Cup, so I can look back with a fair degree of satisfaction,” he said.

As sad as he feels to be leaving, Kelly will have many happy memories.

“There are dozens, if not hundreds of highlights, both with Munster and Ireland.

“It was a very special time with Munster — a great atmosphere within the squad, great fun even when you were working hard in the gym. We had good nights out through all that hard work but nothing quite compared to the 80 minutes on the pitch, fighting for yourself and your colleagues.

“I’m not going to miss the ice baths, I’m not going to miss the elbows into my hamstring, my back or the side of my head, but I am seriously going to miss being sent clear to score a try or giving the scoring pass to someone; just even watching from a distance as one of the other guys goes over the line for a try at a crucial part of the game.

“I suppose it’s going to take some time to sink in that I won’t be involved in the next couple of games against Clermont Auvergne or Wasps in January or maybe beyond. I’ve been involved with Munster over 150 times and I wouldn’t mind 150 more; nothing can replace the feeling, but time moves on and I just feel that once my contract was up, it was the right time to go. I’ve been carrying some niggling injuries and it seemed to be the right time to step down,” he said.

Kelly is a civil engineering graduate and has added a software engineering string to his bow. In the meantime, he is studying to finish his final accountancy (CPA) exams.

“There might just be other opportunities out there for me. I’ll give it a bit of thought. The first thing I intend doing is to take a three-week family holiday early in the New Year in Florida,” he said.