Dan Biggar to retire from international rugby at end of World Cup

Wales fly-half Dan Biggar has announced that he will be retiring from international rugby at the end of the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

Biggar made his Wales debut in 2008 and is amongst nine players to have featured for the country over 100 times. The 33-year-old has won three Six Nations titles and a Grand Slam with Wales and played 109 Tests for them.

He was also part of the British and Irish Lions tours in 2017 and 2021 and has featured in three games for them.

“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,” Biggar wrote in his column for The Mail on Sunday.

“I have a young family in France now, and I don’t think it’s fair for me to keep getting on a flight every autumn, summer and Six Nations.”

“Playing 10 for Wales takes its toll … There have been plenty of moments when I’ve copped it and I’m proud of how long I’ve lasted.

“To be brutally honest, my body has started to feel more like a 33-year-old’s in the last 12 months. I still feel great on the pitch but the recovery days and the days off are getting a little harder.

“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 … I have seen so many great players get phased out by injury or selection and I didn’t want that to happen to me.”