Wales great Halfpenny to retire from rugby
Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyLeigh Halfpenny started his career as a wing before switching to full-back
- Published2 hours ago
Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny has announced he will retire at the end of the season.
Halfpenny, 37, played 101 internationals for Wales, scoring 801 points, which ranked him third in the nation's all-time points scorers behind his mentor Neil Jenkins and Stephen Jones.
He played four Tests for the British and Irish Lions and was named man-of-the-series against Australia in 2013.
Halfpenny started and finished his career with Cardiff and also played for Toulon, Scarlets, Crusaders and Harlequins, winning the European Champions Cup and Challenge Cup during his career.
Halfpenny joins fellow back-three stars Liam Williams and George North, who have announced their retirements in recent weeks.
Halfpenny started playing rugby for Gorseinon in Swansea, where his grandfather Malcolm regularly took him for a young age for kicking practice.
"Starting out aged six down at Gorseinon RFC, I could never have imagined the journey rugby would take me on," Halfpenny wrote on social media.
"None of it would have been possible without those people that supported me from the beginning.
"Rugby has given me some of the best moments of my life and I've been incredibly fortunate to have played the game I love for the last 18 years.
"It's always going to be difficult to walk away, but the time feels right as I reflect back on a career I'm grateful for."
'Playing for Wales was my childhood dream'
Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyLeigh Halfpenny played in three World Cups for Wales
Halfpenny made his Wales debut aged 19 in the first game of the autumn series against South Africa in November 2008.
He played in the Grand Slam success of 2012 and the Six Nations triumphs of 2013 and 2021 and was part of two World Cup semi-finals sides in 2011 and 2019.
In 2013 Halfpenny was named Six Nations player of the tournament and BBC Sport Wales personality of the year.
He was second in the BBC network award that year behind Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.
Halfpenny announced his international retirement in October 2023 but had one final appearance in a Wales jersey the following month in the uncapped victory against Barbarians, who featured Welsh legends Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric.
It was a glittering career that also sometimes stalled due to injury. He missed the 2015 World Cup and spent more than a year on the sidelines with a serious knee injury suffered in his 100th international appearance against Canada in Cardiff in 2021.
Without these set-backs, Halfpenny's impressive Test caps and points tally could have been even greater.
"To play for my country was always a childhood dream," said Halfpenny.
"To wear the Wales jersey meant everything and is something I still struggle to put into words. These remain some of the proudest moments of my life."
'Representing Lions was pinnacle of my career'
Image source, Getty ImagesAlun Wyn Jones and Leigh Halfpenny were among 10 starting Welsh players in the final Test side against Australia in Sydney in 2013
Halfpenny played four Tests for the British and Irish Lions across the 2013 and 2017 tours, and he was also selected in 2009 in South Africa before injury cut short his involvement.
Halfpenny was named player of the series in 2013, helping the tourists to a 2-1 series victory in Australia.
He bettered Jenkins' Lions record for the most points in a Test series with 49.
Halfpenny also broke the record for the most points in a Lions Test as he scored 21 in the third and final international where he set up North for a memorable second-half try.
"To represent the Lions was one of the pinnacles of my career," said Halfpenny.
"Wearing that jersey was an incredible honour and to play alongside, and against, some of the best in the game, making lifelong friendships is an experience I'll cherish forever."
Halfpenny was also part of the Barbarians squad that beat New Zealand in 2009.
'Starting and finishing career with Cardiff is special'
Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyLeigh Halfpenny started and finished his professional career with Cardiff
Halfpenny was originally a member of the Ospreys academy who let him go because of concerns about his size.
He signed for Cardiff Blues ahead of the 2007-08 season and played for Cardiff RFC and the then Cardiff Blues between 2007 and 2014.
"I'll be forever grateful to Cardiff for giving me the opportunity to join the academy and start my professional career," said Halfpenny.
"I instantly felt at home and will always look back at my time at Cardiff as some of the most memorable years of my life."
During that seven-year stint, Halfpenny made 87 appearances and scored 568 points, winning the Amlin [now European] Challenge Cup and [now defunct] Anglo-Welsh Cup.
He signed for Toulon in 2014, winning the 2015 European Champions Cup with the French side before returning to Wales with Scarlets in 2017, spending six seasons in Llanelli.
Halfpenny travelled to New Zealand to join Crusaders in 2024 before linking up with Harlequins the following year.
After being involved as a kicking coach for Wales' summer tour of Japan in 2025, Halfpenny returned to Cardiff with a short-term contract in September 2025 as a kicking coach and player and that deal was extended until the end of the season.
He played his first game for the Blue and Blacks in 4,347 days when he faced Ulster in the win in December 2025 and also featured against the same opposition the following month.
That appearance off the bench in Belfast during the 21-14 defeat could be his final professional match, if Halfpenny is not involved in Cardiff's two remaining United Rugby Championship (URC) matches against Glasgow and Stormers or any further play-off games.
"It's a special club and to be able to finish my playing career where I started means so much," said Halfpenny.
"I have given everything to rugby, and in return, it's given me more than I could ever have dreamed of.
"It's never going to be easy to say goodbye but I'm finishing with an immense sense of pride and gratitude."
Like watching Clark Kent turn into Superman
Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyNeil Jenkins and Leigh Halfpenny together after the full-back had won his 50th Wales cap in 2014
Former Wales and Lions full-back Neil Jenkins was Halfpenny's kicking mentor and hero growing up.
"I first met Leigh back in the academy days, as a young kid at the Ospreys," said Jenkins.
"All the way throughout senior rugby, we worked together. It has been a special bond.
"We've had a fantastic relationship. I've got a huge amount of respect for what he's done and been through.
"I try explaining to people that, often in life, those who are any good work incredibly hard. Maybe harder than anyone else. Leigh's one of those for sure.
"Seeing what Leigh is today, not just as a rugby player, but as a person more importantly for me, is special. It's been incredible seeing that journey."
Rhys Patchell was a regular room-mate of Halfpenny.
"I'm not sure there's much more to say about "Pence" than has already been said," said Patchell.
"The most diligent professional you could find, obsessed about squeezing every last drop of ability out of himself. World-class for almost two decades - it didn't happen by accident.
"Fearless in the air, brave in defence, smart in attack. I used to marvel at how, once he put the scrum cap on, it was like watching Clark Kent turn into Superman.
"People saw Leigh as the guy who always got the job done, but as his room-mate I got to see so much more than the rugby player.
"I got to know the incredible human he is."
Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyRhys Patchell and Leigh Halfpenny were Cardiff, Scarlets and Wales team-mates
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