Volkswacht Bodensee - 'Multiple concussions' forces France lock Willemse to retire

South Africa-born Willemse made the last of his 32 Les Bleus appearances in February 2024.

The 2022 Six Nations winner had not played for his adopted country or club Montpellier since October last year due to successive head injuries.

"Choosing to stop after multiple concussions has been the hardest decision I've ever made," Willemse said on Instagram.

"For a long time, I tried to hold on, because when you've lived one dream, it's frightening to imagine life beyond it.

"But I've come to accept it, and even find comfort.

"One dream ends, but the man it shaped remains," the 2022 French Top 14 winner added.

Willemse, a World Rugby under-20s championship winner in 2012, joins a long line of rugby players to retire due to the problem, including fellow former France lock Sebastien Vahaamahina, ex-New Zealand full-back Leon MacDonald and 56-time South Africa fly-half Pat Lambie.

The sport's governing body is the subject of a legal case by around 300 players, who have accused World Rugby as well as the English and Welsh national unions, of not sufficiently protecting them against concussion.

Last month, former Maori All Blacks back-rower Shane Christie died aged just 39 having said he wanted his brain to be studied after suffering from the effects of multiple concussions.

D.Schlegel--VB