Scott Gibbs enjoyed his finest Wales moment against England in 1999

The powerhouse centre, who quit the Test area in 2001, captained Neath-Swansea Ospreys this season.

Gibbs, who also played rugby league for St Helens, said he has found it increasingly difficult combining rugby with his business career.

"Ten years ago, rugby would have come first - but at my age, work had to be my priority," he said.

Iestyn Harris on Scott Gibbs

Gibbs won 53 caps for Wales and went on three Lions tours.

He added: "What I had not fully appreciated when accepting a two-year contract with the Ospreys last summer was the effect of all the extra travelling, now that the Celtic League is played home and away.

"Coupled with the Heineken Cup, it has meant I have been out of the country for long periods - and that has put a strain on my work.

"It got to the stage where I was being stretched, with neither the company nor the Ospreys getting my best.

"I was delegating at work and missing training sessions.

I told the Ospreys what was in my mind a couple of months ago Scott Gibbs

"Something had to give. Ten years ago, rugby would have come first - but at my age, work had to be my priority.

"I told the Ospreys what was in my mind a couple of months ago.

"They wanted me to carry on until the end of the season, and my decision was no reflection on the coaching team or the management who are all first-class."

Gibbs made his Wales debut against England in Cardiff on January 1991, with the high point coming with his match-winning try against the same foe in 1999.

Your heroics for the Lions in '97 gave you a place among the Welsh greats Al Bekker Have your say on Scrum V

He was first selected for the British and Irish Lions for the 1993 tour to New Zealand, then the 1997 tour to South Africa - where he was named Man of the Series - and was a late call-up for the 2001 Lions in Australia.

Gibbs joined the new Ospreys regional side when it was formed last summer.

Gibbs the dual-code dynamo

He was named captain but his appearances this season have been curtailed by injury problems, while the Ospreys have struggled without him on the field.

With his 33rd birthday arriving on Friday, Gibbs has decided it is time to call time on a remarkable career.