Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union

Chris Cusiter has made 12 appearances in the Premiership for Sale this season

Sale Sharks scrum-half Chris Cusiter has retired from rugby union to start a Scotch whisky business in Los Angeles.

Cusiter won 70 Test caps for Scotland from 2004 to 2014, and also played six times for the British and Irish Lions during their 2005 tour of New Zealand.

The 33-year-old joined Sale in 2014, after spells with Glasgow Warriors, Border Reivers and Perpignan.

"This is the right time to hang up my boots and move onto the next challenge," he told the Sale website. external-link

"Playing for Scotland 70 times was more than I could have dreamed of growing up learning how to play rugby at Robert Gordon's College in Aberdeen.

"The memories of playing for Scotland and touring New Zealand with the British and Irish Lions will be with me forever, and I am grateful for all the incredible experiences I have been afforded through rugby.

"I've been fascinated by the Scotch whisky industry for the past few years and firmly believe that it is Scotland's finest and greatest export and something to be very proud of."

Cusiter was part of the Scotland side which reached the quarter-finals of the 2007 World Cup in France, and later won the Top 14 title with Perpignan in 2009.

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