The Lions top boy calls it a day.

Mike Phillips, everybody's favourite scrum half retires at 99 caps. What an impact he had on the 2009 Lions tour and 2011 World Cup, and not forgetting how he got under ever oppositions fans' skin through being so damn handsome.

Thanks Mike.

Edit in post* It is only international rugby he's retiring from by the way. Article here: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/mike-phillips-retires-international-rugby-10532590

Great servant to Wales and the Lions and he went up in my estimation the way he handled himself after being dropped before the world cup

Never rated him as scrum half (I'll always remember the lessen Marshall gave him during the Anglo-Welsh while he was still at the Blues) but he was a great player (not sure about now as haven't seen him play for a while, hence the 'was').

Main reason for not liking him was down to the look on my wife's face when he was on the tele.

No one really cares. Thats why he announced it now I guess, and it wasn't forced on him when the 6 Nations squad gets picked.

He had his moments and was a top drawer 9 in the Terry Holmes mould, but his size, temperament and tendency to regard service as secondary to scrapping the fringes means he never really fulfilled his potential. If he'd been quicker from the base he could have been a great.

Davies, Webb and Williams will now carry us forward.

I really liked his tenacity and that's why I kind of like Davies over Webb as he has a bit more of an edge to his game.

As for it being forced on him come the 6 Nations some could of said the same when he wasn't in the WC squad initially but unlike a certain prop he didn't throw his toys out of the cot and kept his dignity.

Agree that Davies and Webb will serve us well still not a fan of Williams but he has been in good form for a poor Blues side.

I am a big fan of Mike Phillips for what he did for the Lions in South Africa. I never understood why Welsh fans disliked him so much - perhaps he was more of an English type scrum half than a 'typical' Welsh one. 99 caps is a pretty impressive career, taking into account his ups and downs along the way.

He had haters here there and everywhere. The Welsh who hated him were under the impression that a scrum-half with a faster pass would win us a lot more games. That's unbelievably stupid. Phillips was a lot more than a strong No.9 that could bust through defensive lines scoring tries and setting up others, he was able to read the game very well and pretty much do the outside half's job. He had some difficult times but once we had a dominant pack he was able to flourish and yes on that Lions tour he was perhaps at his best. IMO there wasn't a better No.9 in the NH at the time.

Sad to see him go but we have two guys ahead of him now, he's done fantastically for Wales and has been a brilliant servant.

A quality player and s character.

Some of his passing was ropey but then that seems a common theme with most 9's these days, some of his tries though, and big line breaks against England and Ireland in particular will always be memorable.

Absolutely brilliant in that Lions tour too.

I think he was previously pretty awesome, but after injury lost some zip, speed and pace and because of that seemed to rely more on his attritional, bish-bosh game. People (including me) then remember the latter rather than the former and got pretty frustrated with his style of play. But I think he was just playing to his strengths towards the end after losing the pace. Earlier in his career he was pretty quick. I remember a few tries from half way, etc. Happens to lots of players (losing speed with age/injury), but that loss seems magnified in scrum halves who are usually amongst the quickest players on the pitch.

Cheers Mike! Quality player in his prime. Thanks for the memories.

That's a fair and accurate description Griff. The years I penned out in the OP are the times I believe he was at his best. 2012/13 were the years his form began a downward sprial IMO.

Mike was a thorn in Ireland's side several times and for me was a real integral part of the way Gatland played for a number of years -

i.e. the ball off the top of the line out then he committed defenders allowing Roberts or North to take the ball at first receiver - if the defense drifted he could dummy and break himself. He was a real key man for Wales and a big game player as he showed in the 2009 Lions series.

Always seemed underrated by the Welsh, came across a bit of a big time charlie but a guy that who was hard not to respect as a player.

He ain't the Lions top boy for no reason...

Paul O'Connell and Mike have been exchanging a bit of bants on Twitter - that's where I read that there will be a BBC Wales documentary "The Real Mike Phillips" to be aired on Monday for those interested.

As a last meal in the Wales jersey, I think we should take him to McDonald's......

I have met Mike a few times and like a lot of sports people he isn't the same as the image he portrays on the field.

Yes he's a bit cocky and full of himself but you sort of expect that anyway as that's the image he portrays unlike other players who appear all nicey nicey but are quite arrogant *****.

I remember his first game against France in the Six Nations. He caused them no end of problems. Even when they'd cottoned on to the fact that he was looking to snipe around the fringes, he had the strength to break their attempted tackles.

He was quality. That try against Ireland in 2011...

I wonder if the old poster/wum mikeyphil will be sporting a black armband at this news...

I used to like him as a player, however I lost all respect for him when he gave away the first try against Australia for the Lions. He just let Genia go past him and gave up.. Have a look on the following link;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNTF3STDGDo

pbuk0 wrote:I used to like him as a player, however I lost all respect for him when he gave away the first try against Australia for the Lions. He just let Genia go past him and gave up.. Have a look on the following link;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNTF3STDGDo

Blimey, talk about jogging. Hardly 'Lions Top Boy' there.

He wasn't that great on the 2013 tour but still managed to be first choice. He wasn't solely responsible for that Genia try either.

mikey_dragon wrote:He wasn't that great on the 2013 tour but still managed to be first choice. He wasn't solely responsible for that Genia try either.

Even if you are not playing your best at least you can make an effort and not give up..

A character who divided opinion and who came in for a lot of stick throughout his career. I mention this first to highlight the number of times he defied the critics and lived up to the challenges confronting him on the field.

Some may recall that Phillips was not a popular choice outside (and for some inside) Wales to start prior to the 09 Lions tour. His passing game was eternally criticised and it was generally felt he wasn't the right mould of player to make a successful 9. With O'Leary (who'd been an impressive figure in Ireland's GS that year) ruled out injured Phillips found himself 1st choice and established himself as a central figure in the side as they pushed the Boks in every test. He fronted up physically and although the series was ultimately narrowly lost, he deservedly came home with a lot more respect than he'd left with.

This was the marker Phillips set down in his prime. It can't be said he was ever loved for his off-field personality but when Wales were performing well he was always a key participator. The one thing I won't miss is his (lack of) passing speed, which gave opposition defences half a lifetime to reorganise. Although he made up for this with strength going forward and in the tackle, I always considered him good despite his passing rather than because of it.

Overall though, a warrior and a terrific servant to Welsh rugby in his time. He retires at the right time but thank you Mike for helping Wales achieve what they did.

pbuk0 wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:He wasn't that great on the 2013 tour but still managed to be first choice. He wasn't solely responsible for that Genia try either.

Even if you are not playing your best at least you can make an effort and not give up..

True. Maybe he thought someone else would get there, as there were plenty other players back-tracking to do so. I'm not sure if he was also carrying an injury, I think he might have been and missed the next test.

I caught up with The Real Mike Phillips on iPlayer last night, and it was a good watch. If you have the chance I recommend watching it.

Fewf. I thought from the subject heading that Phil Vickery had retired there for a moment.

mikey_dragon wrote:I caught up with The Real Mike Phillips on iPlayer last night, and it was a good watch. If you have the chance I recommend watching it.

Agreed was a good watch and like said earlier he went up a lot in my estimation for the way he handled himself when initially dropped.

At his best, one of the best. Cleary the best 9 in the UK for quite a while. However, should have gone a few years and has been past his best at test level for a while.

bedfordwelsh wrote:Great servant to Wales and the Lions and he went up in my estimation the way he handled himself after being dropped before the world cup

Agree. In his pomp a very fine player indeed, albeit never a scrum half for the purists. Just one of those players that certain fans love to hate, but still a very good player.