Calling it quits

Groin injury forces Guscott out of World Cup, international rugby

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Posted: Thursday October 21, 1999 06:35 PM

"This is one of the saddest days of my life" said Guscott. John Gichigi/Allsport

LONDON (AP) -- Hampered by a groin injury and loss of form, England center Jeremy Guscott on Thursday pulled out of the World Cup and announced his retirement from international rugby.

"This is one of the saddest days of my life because I have finally had to accept I've played my last match for England," the 34-year-old Bath center said in his column in the Express.

"The groin problem which has already disrupted a part of my career has returned to end it."

Guscott suffered the groin strain during a World Cup warmup game against Canada six weeks ago and it hasn't gone away. Although he played against Italy as a replacement and started against New Zealand and scored two tries against Tonga, he was left off the team against Fiji on Wednesday when England qualified to play defending champion South Africa in the quarterfinals. Coach Clive Woodward has been given permission to replace the talented center in his squad.

"A lot of hard work was put in to get into peak condition for the World Cup but sadly to no avail," Guscott said. "As soon as I start sprinting then the pain starts and it has reached a stage where it is a mental problem as well as physical.

"When something like this is in your mind all the time then you can't do yourself or the team justice. I have had to face up to the truth and fate. Even if England go all the way to Cardiff and the World Cup final, I will not be part of it.

"The papers which signal the end and enable England to bring in a replacement have already been signed."

Scorer of 30 tries in his career, Guscott has played in three World Cups as well as the British Lions and gained a reputation as one of the quickest, elusive and stylish centers in world rugby.

He scored three tries on his debut against Romania in 1989 and was one of the stars of the England team that won the 1991 Five Nations Grand Slam two years in a row and reached the final of the '91 World Cup.

Although a series groin injury threatened to ruin his career, he came back to play in the 1995 World Cup, where England lost in the semifinal to New Zealand.

He played for the Lions in South Africa and scored a series-clinching drop goal in the second test before breaking his arm in the third.

Guscott and his England midfield allies Rob Andrew and Will Carling made the team the strongest in the Northern Hemisphere during the early '90s and, while the other two retired from international rugby two seasons ago, the Bath center carried on despite the distractions of a successful business career and even part-time modeling.

But he had apparently lost his automatic place on the team and Woodward, perhaps with the groin problem in mind, initially named Phil De Glanville and Will Greenwood as his first choice centers before having to recall Guscott because of injuries.

The England coach was the first to pay a tribute to the retiring star.

"Jerry Guscott epitomized the best of England rugby," Woodward said. "It was Jerry's try at Twickenham which stopped a South African victory which would have set a new world record [of 18 consecutive wins].

"And only last week he had the Twickenham crowd on their feet, yelling his name when, in his inimitable style, he raced the length of the pitch to score one of his two tries against Tonga.

"He is England's second highest all-time try scorer and 148 points for your country is no mean achievement, "Woodward said.

"Jerry, who began his rugby at the age of seven, has been an intrinsic part of three Grand Slam winning sides and now three World Cup campaigns.

"He has been an invaluable support to younger players and an England center to remember. He will stay with the squad for the rest of the tournament because that is where he belongs."

If the groin problem clears up, Guscott hopes to continue playing for his club.

"Hopefully that will be possible once the full extent of the groin problem, which surfaced again six weeks ago, is determined," he said.

"It may need an operation or just rest, possibly both. But I will be a very unhappy man indeed if it means I have played my last game full stop.

 

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