Clyde Rathbone

Forgotten Wallaby wing Clyde Rathbone will retire at the end of the season after being called up by the Brumbies for his first Super Rugby game this year.

Rathbone, 32, who has not featured for the Brumbies since last year’s Final against the Chiefs – as a result of injury and illness – will play on the left wing against the Rebels in Canberra on Saturday.

South African-born Rathbone, who has had a chequered playing career punctuated by serious injuries, said he would be calling it quits.

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“This will be my last year at the Brumbies,” he told The Australian newspaper.

“It would be great if we could win the next three games, make the finals and who knows what could happen?”

“Whether you are a 32-year-old like me or if you are just starting out, you never know when it might be your last one. They all matter.”

A former South African Under 21 captain under World Cup-winning coach Jake White, he played for the Brumbies from 2003 to 2009 and made a comeback last year.

Rathbone, who played 26 Tests for the Wallabies, said his comeback had exceeded his expectations.

“I didn’t have any hard and fast goals,” he said. “I just wanted to test myself.”

Rathbone was sidelined with a hamstring injury for the first half of the season and was unable to force his way back into the squad with strong competition on the wings from Henry Speight, Joe Tomane and Robbie Coleman.