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Canadian winger Sean Duke has announced his retirement from rugby. The 28-year-old hangs up the boots to pursue a medical degree from the University of British Columbia. For the past several years he has split his time between his studies and elite rugby, earning a Masters degree in Kinesiology from the University of Victoria.
A winner of 11 caps for the national team between 2008 and 2014, Duke is best known for his exploits on the HSBC Sevens Series. His 42nd and final circuit appearance was fittingly in his home city of Vancouver, though his tournament sadly ended early due to an injury that would ultimately end his season.
Beginning his career as a lean 6’2″ (1.89m) speedster, he matured into a world class finisher in the shortened game with his strength making him difficult to shackle in one-on-one situations. Duke would close out as Canada’s greatest try scorer in sevens, his 124 tries putting him in 18th spot overall on the all-time HSBC Series list. Among his many accomplishments are gold medals at the Pan-Am Games in both 2011 and 2015. He also attended the Commonwealth Games in 2010 and 2014, and the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2013.
The announcement comes six weeks after the same decision came from long-time teammate Phil Mack. With two of Canada’s greatest sevens servants now departing along with a handful of others opting to concentrate on the 15-a-side game, it will be a new-look team that takes the field on the 2016-17 HSBC Sevens Series that kicks off in Dubai on December 2.
