Sean O’Loughlin not planning for retirement just yet

Drew Darbyshire

England and Wigan captain Sean O’Loughlin says he wants to carry on playing for as long as possible.

The 35-year-old put in a stellar display on Saturday as he inspired the Warriors to a 32-23 win over Catalans Dragons in Perpignan.

O’Loughlin has played over 400 games for hometown club Wigan and has earned 34 international caps in total for Great Britain and England.

And he doesn’t have any plans to retire anytime soon.

He told wiganwarriors.com: “People seem to have been asking me about it (retirement) for the last five years now, I’ll keep contributing as long as they (the club) want me to play.

“As long as my performances don’t dip and I’m still adding value to the side then I’d like to keep on playing.

“On the flip-side of that, as long as Wigan think I’m still offering something to the team and they want me to play then I’ll always want to carry on.

“They’ve (the club) managed me really well in the last few years and the biggest thing has just been avoiding those little injuries that you can pick up, providing I do that then I still think I’m an asset to the side.”

O’Loughlin has been named in Shaun Wane’s Wigan squad for Friday’s clash against Leeds Rhinos at Emerald Headingley Stadium, 7:45pm kick-off.