Departing lock Greg Rawlinson revealed his plans to hang up his boots on a high after an emotional night saw him play a huge role in helping Worcester Warriors back into the big time.
Former New Zealand international Rawlinson and second row partner Craig Gillies produced a stunning display to lay the foundations for the 25-20 victory and with it the RFU Championship title.
Rawlinson was taken off in the second half and replaced by Graham Kitchener with his final departure – after over a century of games – greeted with a massive ovation from a packed out home crowd who all stood to hail the huge effort the lock has put in during his Sixways stay.
And after the game Rawlinson admitted it had been great to finish on such a huge positive as he revealed he would now look to call time on his playing days.
Rawlinson said: “It was a really good way to finish and quite surreal at times. You are in the changing room at the end with all the guys you have been spending so much time with and try to comprehend what is happening.
“I have been playing professionally for the last ten years so it hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but I’m sure when the emotions settle down it will hit me.
“It was amazing the reception I got when I came off. It was quite an emotional night for me and I managed to hold it together for most of the night.
“It makes me really proud to get that kind of send-off from the fans. The supporters have been awesome here and it’s been a really great experience.
“The end of last season was pretty demoralising and depressing so I didn’t want to leave like that,” he added. “It’s nice that I can now go with the club on the front foot and looking so positively to the future.
“In terms of the future, I will take a bit of a holiday now through Thailand and Australia and end up in New Zealand by July when it will be time to settle down.
“I will be looking into what I will do next and I have a few ideas, it is going to take a bit of time and I will look to study and see where that takes me.”