Porecki makes surprise call to retire after breaking back into Wallabies
The New South Wales Waratah battled injuries in recent seasons but made his first Australia appearance under coach Joe Schmidt against Fiji last month after nearly two years out of the Wallabies.
After suffering a concussion against Fiji and missing the first British & Irish Lions test in Brisbane, Porecki was recalled for the second clash in Melbourne before being sidelined for the third and final test in Sydney due to a cut heel at training.
Capped 21 times for the Wallabies, Porecki said it was the right time to start a new chapter in his life.
"Rugby has given me so much to be thankful for and has been such a massive part of my life for so long but it feels like the right time for me to turn the page," he said in a statement on Tuesday.
"There's a lot of people who have supported me in my journey, and to them I'll be forever grateful.
"I'm especially looking forward to spending more time with my wife Shani and kids Luca, Charlie and Billie.
"I look forward to continuing to support the game away from the field in this next stage of my life."
Porecki was part of Australia's 2023 World Cup squad and became the 88th Wallabies captain after injury to Will Skelton, leading the side in three of their four pool matches at the tournament.
Schmidt praised Porecki as the "the ultimate professional and quiet achiever."
"He doesn't say a lot, preferring to get on with the job and to lead by example, and he's done that really well for the time that I've known him," he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The 42
2 hours ago
- The 42
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirms FAI approach for Ireland job
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has confirmed he was approached by the FAI to take the Ireland job during the search for Stephen Kenny's successor. The former Manchester United legend faces Kenny's St Patrick's Athletic in the Uefa Conference League tomorrow, as manager of Turkish side Besiktas. At today's pre-match press conference, Solskjaer revealed that the FAI 'asked me if I wanted to be their coach'. Advertisement The 42 reported the approach — and subsequent decline — last summer, understanding the job was his if he wanted it. 'We had some good conversations but in the end it didn't turn out that way,' Solskjaer told The Irish Examiner today. 'I am very happy where I am now . . . we had some good chats.' Explaining the situation to a Turkish translator, the former United manager and player continued: 'Stephen Kenny is the coach of St Patrick's (Athletic), he was the coach of Ireland before, and after him, the Irish FA asked me if I wanted to be their coach.' Heimir Hallgrímsson was appointed as Kenny's successor following a protracted search last July. He leads Ireland into World Cup qualification next month. St Pat's and Besiktas go head to head in the first leg of their Conference League third round tie at Tallaght Stadium tomorrow [KO 7.45pm]. Solskjaer arrives under pressure amid reports linking ex-Liverpool player Nuri Sahin and former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini to his job.
The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Chelsea rocked by disappearance of £30,000 worth of equipment from Blues' Cobham training ground as police called in
CHELSEA have been rocked by the disappearance of £30,000 of camera equipment from their training ground. The Blues called Surrey Police after the gear was reported missing from their Cobham HQ. 3 Police were called to Chelsea's training ground this week Credit: GETTY 3 The Blues rang the old bill after over £30,000 worth of camera equipment went missing Credit: GETTY Play Dream Team now! Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play Over £100,000 in total prize money Play in Mini Leagues against your mates Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw Play via Dream Team's app or website today! It remains unclear whether the hi-tech video equipment has just been mislaid and will come to light once all staff have returned from holiday. But the incident is suspicious enough for the club to have involved the police. Top football clubs like the world champion Blues make extensive use of video footage from training and matches to help players' physical, technical, tactical and mental performance. Chelsea declined to comment about the timing and circumstances of the discovery that the equipment was not where it should be. READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS 'Sell him at half time' Arsenal fans demand struggling star be AXED after shocking display But if a crime has been committed, it won't be the first in the leafy Surrey suburbs to affect the club. A number of Chelsea players have been the victims of break-ins at their mansions near the club's training base. Raheem Sterling's home was targeted in December 2022 while he was with England at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with a group of burglars stealing £300,000 of designer watches. Sterling flew home from the tournament to comfort his family before returning to the Middle East. SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN 3 Albanian Emiliano Krosi was later jailed for more than 11 years for his part in the raid and 32 other burglaries across the South East. Sterling was the fourth Chelsea player to have his home burgled in a relatively short space of time. Drake hints Cole Palmer is inspiration behind his new album name as he shares brilliant video of Chelsea star Current club captain Reece James slammed the 'cowardly thieves' who broke into his house in December 2021 while he was playing for the Blues in the Champions League. The burglars got away with a safe that contained James' medal from Chelsea's Champions League win of that year, as well as the Euro 2020 runners-up medal he earned with England. At least two other unnamed Chelsea players were understood to have suffered similar experiences around the same time
Extra.ie
7 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Dunne reflects on Henry handball and THAT Russia performance
Richard Dunne had plenty of standout moments throughout his footballing career. Whether it was captaining Manchester City or leading Ireland to the European Championships with his no-nonsense defending, Dunne reached heights that have been somewhat lacking for the Boys in Green since his retirement. However, one of the most disappointing nights of his career is one that Ireland fans remember all too well. A videograb of Thierry Henry's handball that led to France's goal against Ireland in the World Cup play-off second leg in 2009. Pic: Sky Sports In November 2009, Irish hearts were broken by the left hand of Thierry Henry. After Ireland forced France to extra-time on their own turf, a place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup seemed a real possibility against all odds. However, with the match looking like it could head to penalties, a moment that has lived in infamy ever since occurred. When a long ball into the Irish box was slightly overhit and heading out for a goal-kick, Thierry Henry slipped into a blind spot for the referee, blatantly controlled it with his hand and tapped it across for William Gallas to head home. Despite the disbelief from Ireland's players, the referee was none the wiser and the tie finished 2-1 to France on aggregate. Dunne was of course in the penalty box when the incident occurred and he has reflected that while anger and disappointment were the predominant feelings at the time, ultimately they just had to get on with it. Ireland were left in disbelief after the goal. Pic: Laurent ZABULON/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images Speaking with bookmaker Betfree, he said: 'It was just disappointment. You know that a decision has gone against you so there is a bit of that (robbed feelings), but as professional players you deal with it and move on. 'Of course it keeps getting brought up, a bit like Diego Maradona's handball against England, but the players move on and in the heat of the moment you're annoyed and angry but you have to play every game the Saturday afterwards. 'It is tough to take but throughout the course of your career, some will go for you and some will go against you, it's just the way it is.' Although the France result felt like such a low point at the time, a couple of years afterwards, Ireland fans got to witness one of Dunne's highest rated performances on the international stage. In September 2011, Ireland visited Russia in a UEFA European Championship qualifier and never has a goalless draw been remembered like this one. Russia bombarded the Irish box with crosses and shots all game and were simply left stunned by how the ball never made it through to the back of the net. A major reason why it ended this way was Richard Dunne. Dunne's replacement shirt against Russia became iconic. Pic: David Maher / SPORTSFILE Dunne finished the match wearing an iconic blank jersey that had to have the number five drawn on it with marker after his original shirt was bloodied following one of his many challenges. He drew the 'Iron Curtain' across Ireland's goal and with the help of Shay Given, his defensive heroics earned an invaluable point that ultimately led Ireland to Euro 2012. When asked if he knew what an immense performance he was putting on at the time, Dunne remarked 'probably not' and added that while as a player you have a feeling if you're playing well, it was 'just a 0-0 draw in Russia' at the end of the day. He said: 'It was good and it's nice that it's something to be remembered by and I've obviously still got the scars from it. 'It's just of those things that follows you around I suppose.' Dunne's performance is remembered every year. Pic: INPHO/Donall Farmer One of the standout moments of the match was Dunne's unbelievable goal line clearance in the first half. Reflecting on it, he continued: 'It is funny, like every year it comes up and people show little clips of it. 'It's good to show my son and let him see it and stuff like that but sometimes it happens and you're just in the right place at the right time and it just happened on a couple of occasions that night. 'I think it's tough to really understand it. It's just one of those things that happened and you're really proud of it. 'It's just a nice memory to have.'
