Abby Dow: England’s World Cup winner retires from rugby at 28

Having successfully juggled the early stages of her rugby career with her studies, Dow is now looking forward to a life in engineering.

No job has been advertised, but she is in talks with various companies in a sector she describes as “very logical – it’s literally part of me”.

“Maybe I like the automotive field, the kind of engineering where the performance is very high,” she said.

“You’re trying to design the best, you’re trying to push innovation, push yourself as well as engineering, learn new things — and learn things that haven’t been learned yet.”

As she heads toward her new engineering life — with a mini crocheted World Cup, of course — she says she won’t turn her back on the game.

Having picked up the ball at Maidenhead at the age of five and then going on to play for Reading, some of her primary memories of growing up are of her sister Ruth and brother Chris playing on various pitches and then begging their parents “for a pound to buy chips from the club”.

“I think with time, maybe I will get back into the game, because I love this sport,” she added.

“I know my professional career is over and I’m ready to love this sport in a different way. I think the joy of rugby is that you can love it in so many different ways.

It’s not just for you to play, but to watch. It’s there to be a volunteer. He’s there to be part of the family. I look at how it started for me when it was a family affair, and I hope it will be the same for me in the future.

“So no, it’s never goodbye to rugby.”