Raymond Rhule, a South African international centre who has not played rugby professionally in ten months owing to a knee injury, has ended his playing career, La Rochelle said on Tuesday.
Rhule is “medically obliged to put an end to his career and his maritime adventure” after being declared unsuitable for high-level sport, according to a statement from the club on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.
“I had to do it. “I haven’t been on the pitch in two years,” Rhule remarked in a video published by his team.
“I’m a competitor.” Being part of a team means making a difference to me. So it was best for me to say stop.”
He joined La Rochelle two years later and appeared in both of their Champions Cup final victories against Leinster in 2022, scoring an early try, and in 2023, playing on the flank.
Rhule started in the Top 14 final defeat to Toulouse in 2023, but then suffered a succession of ailments, most notably to his knee and Achilles, and played only two matches in a year and a half.
