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Rugby World Cup winner Abby Dow has announced her shock retirement from professional rugby, with the Red Roses coach, John Mitchell, bemoaning the fact England have lost “the best right winger in world rugby at the peak of her powers”.
Dow has made the surprise move to focus on her engineering career.
The England international’s last game came in the World Cup final where the Red Roses beat Canada 33-13 in front of a world record crowd of 81,885 in September at Twickenham. Alongside the World Cup in her 59 cap international career, the 28-year-old won seven Six Nations titles and two WXV 1 trophies.
The announcement is not a complete surprise as the wing left her club Trailfinders in June and had not signed for another side before the Premiership Women’s Rugby season, which began on 24 October.
“I never realised when I picked up a rugby ball at the age of five that I was at the start of a 23-year sporting career,” Dow said. “Rugby has been central to my life and has shaped me into who I am today. However, I feel the pull of my other passion, engineering, so I have decided to hang up my boots and try my luck in a different world.
“The rugby family has given much more that I could ever give back. I would like to thank my coaches, family, friends, and most importantly, the fans. They have enabled me to participate in something truly wonderful. I feel very privileged and humble.”
Dow played for Wasps, Harlequins and then Trailfinders, winning her first cap in 2017 against Canada. She was a part of the first group of England women’s players to receive full-time contracts in 2019. She went to score 50 tries in her Red Roses career, the last coming in the 2025 World Cup quarter-final against Scotland.
Off the pitch she gained a masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London.
Mitchell added: “Abby is an awesome individual and a fierce competitor who lifts those around her. She is intelligent, insightful and inquisitive – attributes that have defined the brilliant Red Rose she has been across her 59 caps.
“Abby has been part of an era for the Red Roses in which the game has grown exponentially and, through her love of crochet, her interaction with supporters and her undoubted rugby ability, she has helped drive the women’s game to unprecedented heights.
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“I personally believe that we are losing arguably the best right winger in world rugby at the peak of her powers, but we fully respect her decision to move on to a new chapter. We will miss having her in our environment, and we look forward to seeing her succeed – as we know she will – in whatever she chooses to do next.”
Meanwhile, as reported in the Guardian earlier this month, the British & Irish Lions have announced they have followed the example of the biggest unions by banning players who join R360 in a move designed primarily to prevent an exodus of England’s Red Roses stars to the rebel league.
The Lions said in a statement on Wednesday: “The British & Irish Lions fully support the position of our constituent unions in relation to the proposed competition and will be advising that any player who decides to participate in R360 will not be eligible for selection for the 2027 tour to New Zealand.
“This is the first ever Lion’s Women tour, a historic moment for women’s rugby and we want it to be the best it can be. With the tour just over a year and a half away, we believe it is important that players who may be selected are playing in established leagues that provide certainty on calendar and playing schedule.”
