text: Amid the flurry of tributes that followed Al Kellock’s announcement he was retiring at the end of the season, one from another old warhorse stood out. ‘So my friend and foe Alastair Kellock calls time on a great career,’ tweeted Scotland and Saracens lock Jim Hamilton. ‘Been a pleasure punching and getting punched by you. And punching together.’ As he suggested, Hamilton had stood toe to toe with his countryman as opponents when their respective teams, Edinburgh and Glasgow, clashed. But, in the second row for Scotland, they would have each other’s backs as they fought — normally against the odds — for their country. Al Kellock will retire at the end of the season and take up a new role with the SRU . On Thursday, at the home of Glasgow, it was announced that this fierce warrior would be standing down from active service after a career that truly boasted blood, sweat and toil for both club and country. At 33 and having amassed 56 international caps and made over 200 appearances for Glasgow and Edinburgh, Kellock has decided that his body and mind have been put through enough. No one could deny that he deserves nothing but praise and admiration, although lifting the Pro12 title at the end of the season would also be a more than fitting send-off. And yet, it might never have been. As he reflected upon his career yesterday, Kellock admitted that the odds were stacked against him even being a rugby player as he grew up in football-mad Bishopbriggs. In fact, his local high school didn’t even have a rugby team. He began, unsurprisingly given his height, as a budding centre-half in the school football team and only saw a rugby ball when he trained on a Tuesday and Thursday night at Allan Glen’s RFC. However, encouraged by his parents, who drove him to training, the decision to choose the oval ball has never since been regretted. The record books will show that he skippered Scotland to their first ever Test series win in the southern hemisphere and led Glasgow Warriors into their first ever play-off final. And, of course, more history could yet be made. ‘To retire as Glasgow captain is good enough but if I could go out as the Glasgow captain who wins the Pro12 for the first time in our history would be fairy-tale stuff,’ said Kellock, who played his 150th game as skipper in the 34-34 draw at Leinster last Friday. ‘If you had told me when I was at school I would go on to achieve some of the things I have achieved, and have a chance to round things off by winning the league, I wouldn’t have believed you. Kellock amassed 56 international caps and made over 200 appearances for Glasgow and Edinburgh . ‘When I was starting out, I was one of very few people at my school who dreamed of playing at Murrayfield. All my school friends wanted to play at Hampden and, don’t get me wrong, as a west of Scotland guy I played an awful lot of football, too. ‘We only played rugby in a three- week block in PE once a year and during one of them, my teachers said I had potential and took me to Allan Glen’s. Even then, when I finished school, I always played football with my mates and never saw a rugby ball apart from when I went to the club for training two evenings a week. ‘I had to make the decision when I was nearly 16 to pick football or rugby as I couldn’t do both at weekends because they clashed. ‘Choosing rugby was the best decision of my life. ‘I was picked to go on a tour for state school pupils to Ireland, organised by Sean Lineen, and two years later I played for the Scottish Schools Under-18 side alongside the likes of Mike Blair and Rory Lawson. We didn’t have a school team at Bishopbriggs but the selectors must have seen something in me to give me the chance.’ What they saw was an inspirational leader who wasn’t afraid to put himself about the pitch. And, at 6ft 8in tall and 18st 7lb, he was a formidable opponent. Kellock moved from Allan Glen’s to Stirling County and from there he was awarded a professional contract with Edinburgh Rugby in 2002. He played 56 times for the capital club, before moving west in 2006. He was almost immediately awarded the Glasgow captaincy, a position he has held ever since. Kellock’s senior Scotland debut was in a non-cap tour game against Queensland Reds in 2004. Later that year he won the first of his 56 caps against Australia at Murrayfield. He had always insisted he would only retire when he thought his body couldn’t take much more and the number of injuries and operations he has had made him realise it was time to call it a day. ‘It was dreadful telling everyone I was retiring and it was a reflective time for me,’ said Kellock. ‘There were some tears from my daughter and I would have loved to keep on playing but I knew it was time to call it a day. ‘I have had operations on my shoulder, elbow and will probably need one on my hand. I have had four knee operations and knew I needed to make one big, last push to try to help Glasgow to win the league this season and then call it quits. ‘I’m not going to go away easily as I want to play my part from now until the end of the season. I will be pushing as hard as I can to be involved as much as I can in all our matches. ‘I know how well the young lads are playing but training will still have an edge to it, probably more of an edge, as I want to get a starting place and retire after lifting some silverware with Glasgow.’ Kellock has been handed a job within the Scottish Rugby Union similar to the one secured by Chris Paterson when he retired three years ago, which will make him a rugby ambassador north of the border travelling round clubs. He will also be involved in learning about the commercial and business aspects of the governing body and will also work with the players at Glasgow, such as young lock Jonny Gray. ‘The job the SRU has given me is brilliant as it allows me to learn different parts of the business,’ he said. ‘I am not ruling out doing more coaching work in the future. I am just saying, at the moment, I will be concentrating on the business side but will be mentoring players and helping them with their line-out work. ‘There are some top second-row players at the club like Jonny, who is a grafter and would run into a brick wall for the Glasgow cause. He calls the line-outs and is someone who keeps getting better. ‘Players like Jonny are responsible for the success of the club in recent years. When I first joined Glasgow, we were bringing in 1,500 people at Hughenden, but now we’re regularly exceeding 6,000 at Scotstoun, which makes me incredibly proud and happy to be part of the journey. ‘To have captained the side for nine years is such an honour and I have so many fantastic memories, such as beating Toulouse away from home in Europe and winning against Munster in the Pro12 semi-final last season when my daughter was mascot.’ Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend paid tribute to the role Kellock played in the continued improvement of the club both on and off the field. ‘Al has been instrumental in Glasgow’s rise over the past five or six years and he’s been an excellent role model for our values, with the work he does to improve himself, his team-mates and the club,’ said Townsend . ‘He is very passionate about rugby in Glasgow and it’s great that he’s moving into an important role with Scottish Rugby and Glasgow Warriors when he retires. ‘Al has put his body on the line a lot during his nine years with the club and he’s still competing very hard with the other second-rows to be selected ahead of them. He shows excellent leadership whether he plays or not and his first thought is how he can help the team win. ‘He has been an excellent person to work with. The ideal captain. He has left a fantastic legacy for the future of the club to continue to grow.’
target: Glasgow Warriors captain Al Kellock will retire at the end of the season .
  Kellock amassed 56  Scotland caps during eleven-year international career .
  The lock is calling time on career after 150 matches as Glasgow captain .