Scotland prop Ali Dickinson has finally accepted the inevitable in retiring from playing the game as a result of repeated and protracted injury problems.

With his 35th birthday fast approaching and more than two years after he had played his last Test match - having established himself as Scotland’s first choice loosehead at that point - a major shoulder injury sparked his troubles, minimising his on-field involvement with Edinburgh over the past two seasons.

The amount of time he was given to try to recover demonstrated his value to both his club and the international squad and his persistence in seeking to do so illustrated the attitude that was evident in the way he forced his way into the national squad, then established himself as a respected performer at the highest level.

Like fellow Dundee HSFP product Tom Smith he had initially been seen as a relative lightweight as an elite level front-row forward when he first emerged and was initially an impact replacement, winning nine of his first 10 caps off the bench. However he worked hard to bulk up on his technique and went on to start all bar four of his last 24 Tests in accruing 58 caps in all, latterly forming part of a powerful unit alongside Edinburgh club-mates Ross Ford and Willem Nel.

In the course of that career Dickinson featured in three World Cup campaigns, in 2007 in France where he made his Test debut against the All Blacks, in New Zealand in 2011 and in 2015 in England, where he had already spent much of his club career, playing for Gloucester and Sale Sharks between 2007 and 2013.

“It’s obviously been a tough decision but when you’re getting a bit older, your body makes the decision for you,” he admitted yesterday.

“For me, my body just couldn’t keep up with the demands of the professional game and I believe it’s now a good time to call it a day.

“There has been loads of good memories along the way but it’s not just the games, there’s great pre-seasons, training and socials with the squad. I’ll definitely miss those moments with my team-mates.”

Dickinson’s knowhow will continue to be put to use as he takes on a coaching role with the Fosroc Scottish Rugby Academy, specialising in the scrum and contact area.

“I’ve been really fortunate to have been offered this role to help develop the youngsters coming through, from school-age, into the academy and hopefully into the pro teams,” he said, having started his own professional career as an apprentice with Edinburgh 14 years ago.

“It’ll certainly challenge me as being a player is completely different from being a coach. I can’t wait to get started and it’s definitely going to be a great test of my character. To take up a position with the Fosroc Academy is a great opportunity for me.”

His recruitment was welcomed by Scottish Rugby Head of Academies, Sean Lineen, who indicated that his expertise has the potential to accelerate the development of up and coming youngsters.

“I’m delighted to have Dicko on board,” said Lineen.

“He’s a recently-retired, quality international rugby player, someone that our younger players will know and respect and to whom he can lend all his knowledge and experience learned in 14 years at the top of the game.

“He’s an academy coach but there is also the chance work on his specialist areas of scrum and contact more widely, where his experience is up to date and can be applied across all our academies and national age-grade teams. He’s a very welcome addition."