Oldest ever professional players
Every year we hear about many professional rugby players who put away their boots for the last time when age eventually catches up with them. But retirement can be challenging and we have seen a plethora of older players who returned to the game despite their age.
We take a look at some of the oldest professional rugby players in history who have had a long and successful career well into their late thirties or even their forties.
Colin Stanley (58)
The cherry on top must be Colin Stanley, who might just be the oldest international rugby union player who played for Saudi Arabia against Jordan, at the age of 58 years 116 days, on 15 September 2017.
Stanley, now 63, is still very fit and active and in 2020 he competed in the global online push-up challenge. Representing Bahrain’s Golden Oldies, he was part of the international physical challenge, during which participants commit to doing 25 push-ups every day for 25 days, and most of the Bahrain Rugby Football Club’s Golden Oldies squad took part.
Mark Spencer (57)
Then there was Mark Spencer, who turned out for Qatar in the 2012 HSBC Asian Five Nations tournament against Uzbekistan, aged 57 years and 340 days old… incredibly it was his debut for the Middle Eastern state.
Given, these two names won’t necessarily spark recognition among most rugby fanatics around the world.
Hugo Porta (47)
But one name that has been synonymous with the Argentine rugby side, Hugo Porta who laced up boots until late into his forties. In fact, the inductee of both the International Rugby Hall of Fame and IRB Hall of Fame, and one of the best fly-halves the sport has seen, had an appearance off the bench for the Pumas against a World XV, in Buenos Aires, in April 1999, aged 47, kicking a conversion in the process.
Diego Ormaechea (40)
The oldest player to turn out at the Rugby World Cup was another Goliath on the Test stage, Uruguay No.8 Diego Ormaechea, who hung up his boots after the 1999 tournament in Wales after playing against the Springboks at 40 years of age.
Victor Matfield (38)
One of the greatest lineout exponents in the game, Victor Matfield also became the first Springbok to taste victory in his 100th Test appearance.
One of the greatest locks of his generation, Victor Matfield forged a potent second-row pairing with Bakkies Botha before calling time on rugby after the 2011 World Cup. But he decided to make a return to rugby in 2014 and the Test arena to play in this autumn’s World Cup (his fourth) aged 38 years and 172 days, turning out in the bronze medal play-off with Argentina.
Mario Ledesma (38)
Mario Ledesma, called the godfather of grunt and grind in the Argentine front row, learned the dark arts of set-piece work in the school for hard knocks that is French rugby. The hooker played at Narbonne, Castres and Clermont over a decade as well as being part of the Pumas formidable pack for close on 15 years winning 84 caps. He also helped turn the Wallabies creaking scrum into a formidable weapon in the last 12 months of his career. His last game, against the All Blacks in Auckland in 2011, was at the age of 38 years 145 days.
Simon Shaw (38)
Simon Shaw was a man mountain of the second row and has been part of some halcyon days for England rugby. A Grand Slam winner in 2003, Shaw played in all three World Cup warm-up matches but was overlooked for the original squad. He flew out Down Under when Danny Grewcock was injured and was part of the World Cup-winning squad, though he never played a match. He was in action in the 2011 World Cup aged 38 years and 37 days.
Nick Easter (38)
Easter began playing for the England national team in 2007, playing in the 2007, 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups, as well as the annual Six Nations Championships. Aged 38, he retired in 2016.
Jamie Cudmore (37)
The former Llandovery and Llanelli lock was the teak-tough enforcer for the Canadian national team where his teammates called him ‘Cuddles’. Like a true Canuck he always got his man and played up until the age of 37, retiring in 2016.
Francis Haget (37)
Haget enjoyed a 13-year French career at lock and the denouement came at the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup with a game against Fiji. This was just reward for a player who had a distinguished club career with Agen and Biarritz, where his elegance in the air was much admired, but he could also mix it with the bruisers of the Top 14 when he had to. He took part in the 1987 Rugby World Cup, when he had his last cap in the 31-16 win over Fiji, in Auckland in 1987, aged 37 years old.
Rod Snow (37)
The popular Canadian prop cut cult figure status at Rodney Parade playing a decade for Newport and then two seasons with the Dragons. His international career spanned 12 years with the final of his 62 games coming in the 2007 Rugby World Cup against Australia, in Bordeaux, aged 37 years 151 days.
John Hayes (37)
The cornerstone of Ireland’s pack for a decade and was still going strong well into his 37th year when his involvement in the Six Nations came to an end in a defeat to Scotland at Croke Park in 2010.
Andrea Lo Cicero (36)
The Italian chose a fine match to bow out on – Italy’s momentous Six Nations win against Ireland in 2013. It was the last of his 103 caps at the ripe age of 36 years 313 days.
Rory Best (36)
The Ulsterman made the last of his 64 Six Nations appearances against Wales at the Principality Stadium in March 2019, aged 36 years, 7 months and 2 days, before retiring for good later that year. Over the course of his international career, he won the Six Nations four times, including two Grand Slams.
Keven Mealamu (36)
Mealamu bowed out of Test rugby in the best way possible, leading the Kapa o Pango haka before the 2015 Rugby World Cup final against Australia as the All Blacks ripped up the record books with back-to-back Webb Ellis Trophy wins and grabbing a third global crown. He retired after the competition aged 36, one of six senior players who retired from International rugby at the time.
Phil Orr (36)
To newer Irish rugby fans, Phil Orr was the esteemed IRFU president, serving with distinction in 2017 and 2018 as a fine administrator. But to those of an older vintage, Orr was a teak-tough loosehead who packed down in green for over a decade, making a record 49 consecutive appearances. He won a Test cap for the 1977 British & Irish Lions in New Zealand. He retired from international rugby in 1987 having played for Ireland in the inaugural Rugby World Cup aged 36.
Allessandro Zanni (36)
The versatile forward made his Six Nations swansong in Italy’s defeat to Scotland in Rome in 2020 aged 36 years and 22 days. He was one of eight Azzurri players to win a century of caps for his country.
Paul O’Connell (35)
When he stopped playing, O’Connell was Ireland‘s third most-capped player (108) and the eighteenth most-capped international player in rugby union history. During his career, O’Connell captained Munster, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions. He won the 2015 Guinness Rugby Writers Player of the Year award in August 2015. During the 2015 Rugby World Cup against France he went off with a hamstring injury at the end of the first-half. On 9 February 2016 O’Connell announced that he’d had to retire from all professional rugby based on medical advice, aged 35.
Mauro Bergamasco (35)
A back-row warrior who played alongside brother Mirco for much of his time for Italy, which came to an end after his fifth Rugby World Cup tournament in 2015. His final Six Nations appearance came in the same year, aged 35 years and 324 days, in a defeat to Wales in Rome.
Sergio Parisse (35)
Typhoon Hagibis and COVID-19 have robbed the most skilful player to ever pull on an Azzurri jersey of a fitting farewell. But the Azzurri talisman has yet to officially retire. Parisse is Italy’s most-capped player with 142 test appearances and nearly half of them came in the Six Nations. Parisse is widely considered one of the greatest number eights to play the game in the modern era, and the greatest Italian rugby player of all time. He also holds the joint record of playing in five Rugby World Cups.
