Saracens lock Jim Hamilton announced his retirement from international rugby on Wednesday, a day after missing out on a place in Scotland's squad for the World Cup.

The 32-year-old, capped 63 times, was not included in the 31-man list unveiled by head coach Vern Cotter on Tuesday and will now concentrate his efforts on his club career.

"Today is both a sad day and a day that I feel extremely proud to have had. For I announce my retirement from international rugby," Hamilton announced on Twitter.

"Never in a million Saturday afternoons did I think I would have represented this beautiful country of Scotland 63 times on the rugby field.

"I have loved every single moment of wearing the thistle and feel extremely humble to have done it for nine years."

Hamilton, who has also played for Edinburgh, Gloucester, Leicester and Montpellier, was born in the English town of Swindon, but qualified to play for Scotland through his father.

He made his debut against Romania in November 2006, becoming the 1,000th player to be capped by Scotland, and played at the 2007 and 2011 World Cups.
Source: AFP