Israel Dagg: New Zealand international retires from rugby after succumbing to serious knee injury
The full-back and wing won 66 caps for the All Blacks and featured in the 2011 World Cup-winning side
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Your support makes all the difference.New Zealand international Israel Dagg has announced his retirement at the age of 30 after failing to recover from a serious knee problem.
Dagg required two operations on the injury that was initially sustained in early 2018 before suffering a recurrence while on Super Rugby duty for the Crusaders last weekend.
The gifted full-back and wing won 66 caps and was a member of the 2011 World Cup-winning All Blacks squad.
"While it's bittersweet to mark the end of my playing career, I'm grateful to still be able to contribute to this Crusaders team in 2019," said Dagg, who took medical advice to retire.
"On a personal note, I'm looking forward to taking on some new challenges in the future, and looking forward to spending more time with my young family."
All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen insisted it was a shame to see Dagg walk away from the game, but that his legacy was secured.
"It's always a shame when injury forces a player to retire, but 'Izzy' will leave our game knowing that he'll forever be remembered as an outstanding player who definitely enhanced the All Blacks jersey and contributed to the legacy of the team," said Hansen.
"He had an outstanding debut season for us in 2010, scoring that final try in the Test against the Springboks in Johannesburg, and then took that form into the Rugby World Cup in 2011 where he was one of the stars of the tournament, and he played a major part in the All Blacks being successful at that tournament.
"We'll all miss his outstanding rugby skills on the field, but he was a real character off the field as well. We'll look back fondly at his time in the black jersey - he's a very special man and a very special player.
"We wish him, wife Daisy and his young family all the very best for what the future holds."
Dagg was "one of the greats of our game," according to New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew.
"He was an excitement machine on the rugby field and fans knew when he got the ball in his hands that anything could happen," Tew added.
PA Sport contributed to this report
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