"To play international rugby you have to be absolutely committed. You have to make sacrifices and do all the extra stuff in training and preparation to be right.
"I've always tried to do that throughout my career and playing for Scotland has meant the world to me.
"But the minute there is the possibility of it feeling like a chore . . . well, that's the slippery slope for me and I would never want to do anything that would either devalue the Scotland jersey or anything that I've achieved," said Scotland's most-capped prop.
Best of luck to the man, but a very odd retirement speech.