Ritchie Hawkyard calls time on his career

Drew Darbyshire 18 Dec 2019 12:03 PM

Keighley full-back Ritchie Hawkyard has announced his retirement from rugby league with immediate effect.

The 33-year-old made 257 career appearances for Bradford, Swinton, Oldham and Keighley, scoring 96 tries and kicking 53 goals. Hawkyard earned one cap for Scotland in 2007.

He said: “I have officially made the decision to retire from rugby league.

“It is not a decision taken I have taken lightly but I thought now is the right time to retire because I didn’t want to get halfway through the season and start having second thoughts about playing.

“I have had around two months away from the game so I can spend time with my family and I’ve loved every minute of it to be honest.

“I’ve played rugby now for 30 years and 17 years as a semi-professional player – a lot of commitment and dedication goes in to the game but the memories from rugby will last forever. I’ve had some great memories from every club I’ve played at.”

Ritchie Hawkyard Retirement Message

Ritchie Hawkyard has this evening announced his retirement from Rugby League with immediate effect.Titch re-joined the Cougars in October from Oldham but has now made the decision to hang up his boots.Over his career, Ritchie, a fan favourite wherever he has played, has appeared for the Bradford Bulls, Swinton Lions, Oldham and the Cougars.During that time, Titch has been promoted from League One on three separate occasions as well as being part of the Cougars side that lifted the iPro Sport Cup in 2016.Ritchie also earned international honours for Scotland and has also in his career won the League One Player of the Year and this year won the Man of the Match award in the Grand Final.And the RFL recognised the career of Hawkyard last year with the awarding of a testimonial for his services to the sport. Everyone here wishes Titch all the very best in his retirement and both thank and congratulate him on a superb career in the game.Here from the man himself on the video below ⬇️

Posted by Keighley Cougars on Tuesday, December 17, 2019