With Bristol Bears back-row forward Jordan Crane announcing his plans to retire at the end of the 2019/20 season this week, we reflect on his illustrious career, which included an historic European Cup match for Leicester Tigers. Crane – who won three caps for England – began his career with Leeds Tykes and made his European debut in the Challenge Cup back in 2004, going on to play 10 times for them in Europe, including five in the European Shield. The 33-year-old joined Leicester in 2006 and spent 10 years with them, winning four English Premiership titles in the process. His most famous European moment came in the European Cup semi-final against Cardiff Blues in 2009, when he kicked the match-winning penalty in the competition’s one and only shootout so far. Leicester had raced into a 26-12 lead with tries from Scott Hamilton and Geordan Murphy, only for Cardiff to stage a stunning comeback in the last six minutes via scores from Jamie Roberts and Tom James, forcing extra time, which proved scoreless and set up the famous shootout. After 14 penalties, it was the turn of Cardiff flanker Martyn Williams, but he skewed his attempt wide, allowing Crane to seal Leicester’s passage to the final, which the Tigers lost 19-16 to Leinster Rugby. https://twitter.com/BristolBears/status/1172072355226501121?s=20 He went on to play for a further seven years for the two-time winners, making 49 European Cup appearances for them in total and scoring eight tries. In 2016 Crane moved to Bristol, where he has played for the last three seasons, appearing in seven Challenge Cup games and notching three tries, with the tries all coming last term, when the Bears reached the quarter-finals. Speaking about his career highlights, he said: “When I reflect back on the last 16 years, I’ve been so fortunate to meet many great friends and share the field with some of the most talented players to play the game. “The chance to represent my country and achieve domestic success with Leicester are obvious highlights, and I’ve loved the past two seasons working with Pat Lam, where I’ve played some of the best rugby of my career.” Crane will join Lam’s backroom team as academy transition coach in a dual role with immediate effect.