That milestone game was in 2018 when Brown was 33.

He remained with Harlequins until 2021, from which point he was determined to show that he still had more to offer as a player.

He had a solitary season with Newcastle, then spent 10 months without a club before he was handed a surprise career lifeline by Tigers in January 2023.

The try that he scored on his Leicester debut came with the message that age was no barrier.

What started a short-term injury cover for the Six Nations has turned into more than two years at Mattioli Woods on Welford Road.

“At 36 people would have thought I’m done, on the scrapheap, what can he offer? I guess in a way I proved to people that no matter what age, you have a bit to offer,” he said.

“I knew I was still able to contribute, I felt good physically and mentally, I was still motivated and energised by rugby.”

And while Brown says he is “in a lucky place” where he has not “physically broken down” as he approaches his 40th birthday, he says enough has changed to know it is the right time to retire.

The two-and-a-half-hour commute from his home in Surrey to get to Leicester and the mental demands of being an elite sportsperson are what prompted the decision at the end of a campaign in which he has made just five appearance.

“It’s the mental grind of doing the right things day in and day out,” Brown said.

“I didn’t want to be that player and I can’t be that player or person that just grinds though taking a pay check and is happy to be tuning up for some training.

“It was becoming very tough over the last few months to keep doing that.”