Northampton flanker Heinrich Brussow forced to call time on rugby career

Northampton Saints flanker Heinrich Brussow has announced his retirement with immediate effect.

After making the move to Franklin’s Gardens from Japanese Top League club NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes in 2018, Brussow has been restricted to 21 appearances for Saints by a series of injuries.

The most recent, a hamstring strain, came in the 33-21 Premiership Cup win over Leicester Tigers almost a fortnight ago.

And 33-year-old Brussow revealed his body hasn’t allowed him to achieve the goals he set himself when signing for Chris Boyd’s side.

“I feel very proud to have represented a club like Saints which has such a rich history and the passionate support of Northampton behind them,” Brussow said.

“I came to Northampton after spending a long time in Japan, looking for a new challenge and to push myself here in England. But I have been battling injuries for some time now and I have made the very difficult decision to call time on my career.”

Brussow won 23 caps for the Springboks, earning a series victory over the British & Irish Lions in 2009 and never once lost to the All Blacks in the five times he played them.

Saints team-mate Lewis Ludlam tweeted: “Sad news. Helped me massively the last year. One of the greats on and off the pitch. Wishing him all the best in retirement.”

Sad news. Helped me massively the last year. One of the greats on and off the pitch. Wishing him all the best in retirment🙌🏾 https://t.co/3bLjdwLFYD

— Lewis Wesley Ludlam (@LewisLudlam) October 23, 2019

Absolutely gutted for this guy, a true hero. It was a privilege to have played along side him 🙌🏽 enjoy retirement https://t.co/JVlNlAudfc

— Rory Hutchinson (@RoryJHutchinson) October 23, 2019