Robinson calling it a day

England World Cup winner Jason Robinson will retire from club rugby at the end of this season.

The 32-year-old Sale Sharks skipper is set to make his final Guinness Premiership appearance against Bath at Edgeley Park on April 13.

However, Robinson, who has won 43 caps and scored 26 Test tries, will still be available for England throughout this summer and for the World Cup in September and October.

Robinson said: "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Sale Sharks, but the time has come to move on to other things. I want my last game for Sale Sharks to be a home game (versus Bath), and I want to be able to say a big thank-you to the supporters of this great club."

If selected for England's World Cup defence in France, he intends retiring from the sport completely after that tournament is over.

Robinson, who joined Sale from Wigan rugby league club in November, 2000, has made 531 appearances in both codes of the game.

His crowning glory with Sale was helping them land their first Premiership title last season, when Sale finished top after the regular 22-game league campaign and then destroyed Leicester in the final at Twickenham.

Robinson had retired from international rugby in September 2005, but he returned to the fold for this season's RBS 6 Nations Championship and performed as though he had never been away.

The Sale wing scored four tries in four appearances and is likely to remain a key part of England head coach Brian Ashton's plans this year.

England travel to South Africa for a two-Test tour in May and June, then face three World Cup warm-up games during August before beginning their World Cup defence against the USA in Lens on September 8.