World Cup winner Abby Dow has announced her shock retirement from professional rugby to focus on her engineering career. The 28-year-old Red Roses wing, described by head coach John Mitchell as “the best right winger in world rugby at the peak of her powers”, played her final match in England’s World Cup final victory over Canada in September.
Dow, who earned 59 caps and scored 50 tries for England, also won seven Six Nations titles and two WXV 1 trophies. She left her club Trailfinders in June and had not signed with another side before the current Premiership Women’s Rugby season began.
“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.”
Dow, who holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Imperial College London, played for Wasps, Harlequins and Trailfinders during her career. She was part of the first group of England women’s players to receive full-time contracts in 2019.
Mitchell paid tribute to Dow, saying: “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. We fully respect her decision to move on to a new chapter.”
