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          Sam Warburton retirement: Gareth Bale, Bryan Habana lead tributes

          Sam Warburton was capped 74 times by Wales and a further five by the British & Irish Lions. Hannah Peters/Getty Images
          • ESPN
          Jul 19, 2018, 11:38 AM

          Gareth Bale led tributes to Sam Warburton after the former Wales and British and Irish Lions rugby captain announced his retirement on Wednesday.

          Bale went to the same school as Warburton, and the pair played on the same football team at Cardiff's Whitechurch High School.

          While Bale would go on to win Champions Leagues at Real Madrid, Warburton became the youngest Lions captain in history and only the second man to lead the team on two tours.

          Warburton would also captain Wales a record 49 times but was forced to retire at the age of just 29 due to injury.

          "Congratulations on an incredible career, mate," Bale, also 29, wrote on Twitter, "good luck for everything in the future."

          Elsewhere in the rugby world, tributes to Warburton were posted from Bryan Habana, David Pocock, Brian O'Driscoll and Eddie Jones.

          "Much respect for an incredible career," said South African winger Habana. "It was no doubt an incredibly difficult decision given your resilience, determination and fighting spirit."

          Australian flanker Pocock said Warburton was a "great player that will be missed", while former Ireland captain O'Driscoll, who retired in 2014, said "simply well done, a proper hard competitor. Packed a lot in for 29!"

          "I have the highest admiration for Sam," England head coach Jones said. "He's been a real inspiration for Wales and an inspiration for young players around the world."

          Warburton's retirement came on the same day as Geraint Thomas, another Whitechurch High School alumni, won the yellow jersey to take the lead in the Tour de France.

          Speaking to the BBC following his stage win in La Rosière, Thomas laughed when it was suggested he had stolen Warburton's thunder.

          "I did hear that [announcement] this morning," Thomas said. "I was quite surprised but he's had a fantastic career and good luck to whatever he does next."

          Some other tributes from the world of rugby

          And finally, from the man himself...