Top 14: Rory Kockott to retire after 11 years at Castres

South African-born French international scrum-half Rory Kockott is set to retire from rugby after becoming a town hero in Castres over the past 11 years.

The scrum-half, who came from Durban after being frustrated in his quest for international rugby, leaves at the end of the current season having helped the tiny southern French town to two of the unlikeliest Top 14 titles of the professional era, in 2013 and 2018.

Career-defining moment

It is the first of those two that the Castres fans will most fondly remember him for, as he scored 13 of the team’s 19 points in a stunning win over Toulon, including a memorable try just before half-time.

He was also at the base of the pack for the 2018 triumph, which was one of many games that the experienced axis of he and Benjamin Urdapileta won together.

He won 11 French international caps, including at the 2015 World Cup, and might have won more had the national team not been in a constant state of flux.

With Castres’ place in this season’s play-offs all but secure, he will be hoping to repeat the miracle of nine years ago for a grand hurrah.

Castres also announced six signings on Wednesday, all of them from Pro D2 teams, emphasising the current rude state of health prevalent in French rugby. Among them was Spanish international flanker Asier Usarraga, who signs from Bayonne.