Injury forces Munster's Ronan to retire

Munster's Niall Ronan has announced he will retire from professional rugby at the end of the season due to injury.

Ronan has been forced to quit because a right knee injury sustained at training on October 17, last year.

The 31-year-old back row had surgery just before Christmas, but has been advised to retire.

The Meath man told his teammates ahead of training in UL this morning.

Ronan said: "It has been a huge honour for me to play with such a great team for the past seven years. I'm very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to play with Munster Rugby and I truly enjoyed the experience.

"I would like to thank the supporters, staff, teammates and people of Munster for my time here.

"I would also like to thank my family, friends and former clubs that I played with for all their help and support throughout my career."

While Niall was playing rugby he had made provisions for his future by recently gaining a BA in Strength & Conditioning with Setanta College.

He said: "I will return to my home town of Drogheda and set up a business in the line of work I've studied for, focusing on injury rehabilitation.

"I believe my experience as a professional rugby player will help me in this regard, and I am looking forward to supporting my old club Boyne RFC from the side-lines, going back to where it all began for me."