Former England international retires

NEWS: Former England international Billy Twelvetrees has retired at the age of 35, his club Ealing Trailfinders announced.

The versatile former Gloucester centre and flyhalf, described as ‘a true Cherry and Whites legend’, earned 22 caps for England.

He spent the final season of his career in the Championship with winners Ealing Trailfinders having previously been a regular in the Premiership for over a decade

Following a move to Gloucester in 2012 where he made 273 appearances in an 11-year career with the Cherry and Whites, Twelvetrees was called into England’s senior squad by Stuart Lancaster, and made a try-scoring debut against Scotland in 2013.

Later that year, he was drafted into Warren Gatland’s British & Irish Lions squad midway through their tour of Australia but did not feature in a Test against the Wallabies.

He began his career with Bedford Blues before joining Leicester Tigers in 2009, where he won the Premiership in his first season.

He was named Gloucester captain at the start of the 2014-15 season and led the club to their second European Challenge Cup title.

Gloucester honoured Twelvetrees on X this week, saying: “A true Cherry & White legend calling it a day. Thanks for all the memories, Billy.”

“Although we only had Billy with us for a year, he made a big impact on our squad. His career speaks for itself and he can be incredibly proud of all that he has achieved,” Ealing director of rugby Bill Ward told the club’s website., external

“We will miss him as a player, but more than that he is one of the good guys and a really good bloke that we will miss even more.

“We wish him all the best for the future.”