Biggar to retire from international rugby after World Cup

Wales fly-half Dan Biggar has announced he will retire from international rugby after the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

The highly decoreated Biggar announced his decision in his Mail on Sunday column where he said: “I’ve decided to call time on my Wales career after the World Cup. It’s 15 years since I turned up to my first camp and it feels like the right time to walk away.

“I’ve always wanted to stop on my own terms. If I don’t retire myself then I know I will get pushed  out eventually. Sam Costelow is coming through — it’s his moment now. I have seen so many great players get phased out by injury or selection and I didn’t want that to happen to me.

Capped 109 times by Wales since making his international bow as a teenager against Canada in 2008, he has won three Six Nations titles and a coveted Grand Slam and is about to participate in his third World Cup.

He has also been on two British and Irish Lions tours, making three Test appearances in South Africa in 2021. He is determined to finish his Wales career off in style in France where Wales begin their World Cup campaign against Fiji who will a difficult proposition after they stunned England at Twickenham in a warm up game.

“I want to go out with as much of a bang as possible. The dream would be to get out of the group, go deep into the tournament and go out on a real high.

“I want to do my family proud and my mum will be at the front of my mind. She passed away a couple of years ago. It’s been sad not having her there to see some of my biggest moments, like playing for the Lions, reaching 100 Wales caps and  moving to Toulon.”