Scotland's most capped player Ross Ford has announced his retirement from rugby after a career where he made 110 appearances for his country.
The hooker also won a cap for the Lions on their 2008 tour of South Africa and played over 300 club games for Border Reivers and Edinburgh.
The 35-year-old won his final Scotland cap against Fiji two years ago to overtake Chris Paterson's previous record tally and says he was lucky to have played the game he loves for so long.
"I've been very fortunate. I've had a long career in the sport and have been able to represent my country at the highest level, playing in a lot of great places around the world.
"I've met some characters along the way and overall just feel very lucky to have played a sport that I love and make a living in the process.
"I never had any specific targets in mind, the record just kind of crept up on me. I recognise it as a big achievement, but it's just something that came hand-in-hand with playing the sport.
Ford now plans to take up a coaching role in the Scottish Rugby academy
"I always enjoyed the strength and conditioning side of things. It was always a big part of my game and it was something I was good at.
"Later in my career I took a big interest in it and it became something I wanted to do after I finished playing, so I was really keen when this opportunity came up, especially being a Borders lad as well.
"There's a lot of talent here, so if I can help them develop and make this one part of their game world class then, hopefully, they'll come through and go on to bigger and better things.
"I'm looking forward to getting in there and passing on some of the things I've learned and show a level of work ethic they can follow and stand them in good stead to be the best player they can be, setting the tone wherever they go.
"I'd like to think I'm in a good place to pass a lot of that on, so it's quite an exciting time. It gives me something to go into with a lot of energy and will allow me to keep getting a buzz from the game."
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