When it's your time to go, you just know

WELL, I didn’t see any of that coming! Two retirements within an hour of each other on a Friday afternoon is unusual to say the least. Given it involved two of the most iconic players of the professional era in Welsh rugby made it even more stunning. It left me baffled, bemused and wondering what the hell was going on.

- SHANE WILLIAMS

Once the initial shock of hearing that first Justin Tipuric and then Alun Wyn Jones had both decided to retire from international rugby had subsided, I asked the same question as every other Welsh rugby fan. Why?

Having accepted the invitation to join the 54-strong World Cup training squad named by Warren Gatland, it looked as though both players were on course for another tournament. And now this!

For me, the biggest thing is both players have made their own decisions. The full reasons behind them might not be forthcoming, but when your time is up, you know. Have they gone too soon? No! They’ve looked at what’s ahead, what they have to go through and what they’ve got left to give.

Two tortuous training camps in May and June will be followed by three summer warm-up games. Then it’s off to the World Cup in France. Trust me when I tell you, it is mentally and physically demanding and draining. That must have come into their thinking, although it’s not as though they weren’t both more than capable of coping with it all.

It was interesting to read in Alun Wyn’s announcement that he made his decision after on-going conversations with the Welsh management team.

Did Warren Gatland say there were no guarantees about him making the final cut for France? That jeopardy is always there, and the best coaches always let you know that fact. It is a question of honesty, integrity and motivation.