New stand off Scott Wilson, from Canterbury, Australia, made his debut as a substititute on Sunday while New Zealander Brendon Tuuta, behind Wilson, said goodbye to the game.Pictures: MIKE BODEN

BRENDON Tuuta was pleased to bow out of his Rugby League career on a high against Wigan.

The former Kiwi Test second rower has struggled with knee problems all year but always given his all on the pitch for Warrington.

Sunday brought the familiar sight of Tuuta trying to ignore the substitution card being waved around the touchline with his number on it.

He eventually trudged off to another round of applause with the fans who quickly warmed to the 33-year-old when he arrived at Wilderspool at the start of the season.

Tuuta said: "I've had a good year. I was already retired in my mind before Darryl persuaded me to come back and it's been worth it.

"It's been difficult because of all the knee problems and I would have liked to have done more for Darryl and the boys but I still love the game and being involved.

"This was a good game to finish on because it was a great effort from the boys and we should have had it at the end. There are some great players at this club and with a few more, along with an injury free run, they should be looking good next year."

Tuuta is now looking forward to getting back to his wife and family in New Zealand - but knows he has a long list of jobs waiting for him when he arrives.

He said: "I was in the middle of working on the house when Darryl got me to come back so that will all be waiting for me. I'm going to try and give the knees some rest for a bit but there will be plenty for me to do.

"I am thinking about buying a couple of pubs when I get back but I'll see how it goes."

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.