DAN BIGGAR: Why it is the end of the road for me and Wales after the World Cup
- Dan Biggar is set to retire from international rugby after the World Cup in France
- The fly-half told Wales head coach Warren Gatland of his decision on Thursday
- Biggar missed the 16-52 defeat to South Africa last weekend with a back twinge
- Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results
I have some news to share. 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’m not on social media so I wanted to use this column to explain my decision. 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. My eldest, James, is at an age where he has school shows and sports days and I don’t want to miss those moments.
Playing 10 for Wales takes its toll. I had a conversation about this the other day with my wife, Alex. Everyone’s got an opinion and there’s always someone better than you. There have been plenty of moments when I’ve copped it and I’m proud of how long I’ve lasted.
Alex has lived all of the ups and downs with me and she has had to wear a lot of the criticism. I know she’ll read this and I want to say thank you for everything. We’ve done it together.
To be brutally honest, my body has started to feel more like a 34-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.
Dan Biggar is set to retire from international duty with Wales after the World Cup
The fly-half has won 108 caps for his country and was Wales captain in the 2022 Six Nations
The 33-year-old was involved with two tours for the British and Irish Lions
I’m not as durable as the teenager who turned up to his first camp in 2008 and got a b******ing from Alan Phillips, the team manager, for arriving in flip-flops!
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.
I grabbed Warren Gatland in the team room on Thursday morning and told him my decision. We had a conversation before I was pulled out of the South Africa game last weekend with injury.
I had a twinge in my back and I was desperate to play, so I told him it will probably be my last game in Cardiff. Gats is an intelligent bloke. He got the gist but he said we need to think about the World Cup.
When I told him a couple of days ago, he wasn’t too surprised and acknowledged there will be few guys moving on. Knowing I’ve only got a matter of weeks left in the national team, my mindset is to go out and embrace every moment.
It’s not in my nature to be slack but I want to enjoy having a laugh with the boys. Those bonds in the team room are what I’ll miss the most. Some lads like to get to bed early but I love staying in there late, playing cards and chatting rubbish. But I’m not going to France to enjoy the weather and have a bit of a kickaround in the sun.
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.
She was my biggest fan and I think she would agree that it’s the right time to step away to be with my family. I still keep the hand-written note she left me beside my bed. It’s in a frame and it says, ‘Wishing you every happiness in the world. Today, tomorrow and always’.
Biggar claims he is ‘not as durable’ as the teenager who showed up to his first Wales camp in 2008 in flip-flops
He missed last weekend’s defeat to South Africa in Cardiff due to a twinge in his back
It makes me want to get up and enjoy the day, rather than dreading things like getting dropped. I’ll have her note with me in France and it will be the first thing I look at every morning. I find it hard, not having her around, but hopefully she’ll be looking down and feeling pretty proud when I pull on a Wales shirt for the last time.
For the next few weeks I’ll keep trying to prove people wrong and I’ll keep fighting for every blade of grass. One thing I can I guarantee you is this team will fight in France. We’ve got a young squad with a lot of confidence. There’s a wave of youngsters coming through and it reminds me of when myself, Leigh Halfpenny, Jonathan Davies and Rhys Webb arrived on the scene together all those years ago. I was rooming with Martyn Williams and didn’t know what to say!
I love the energy these new guys bring. Did I believe before the summer that we could win the World Cup? Probably not. Let’s call it as it is — we are a bit behind Ireland, France, South Africa and New Zealand. The games against England weren’t the highest quality but sometimes one result can change your mindset. We’re a confidence team.
Biggar won the Six Nations with Wales in 2013, 2019 and 2021
He is set to appear at his third World Cup with Wales in the coming weeks
The hard facts are that we’re on the right side of the draw and if we manage to get out of the group then we’ve got a chance of going a bit deeper. We had a leveller against the Springboks last weekend but there’s still a quiet bit of optimism. South Africa gave us a good lesson and we know that’s where we need to be. We’ll need a bit of luck and we’ll need to keep guys fit, but the mood is much different to day one of camp.
I look at those young guys and they’ve got so many brilliant moments ahead of them. In this job, you get to travel to amazing places. You get to work with brilliant people and one I’d like to mention is Caroline Morgan, the PA. Without her I think the union would have fallen apart a long time ago — and it’s come close a few times! I’ll miss working with Neil Jenkins, too. I wouldn’t have got anywhere near 100 caps without him. He’s put so much time into me. He’s been my most trusted confidante on the pitch. We’ve had our fair share of bust-ups but we always go back and have a laugh about it.
There have been ups and downs but that’s what makes the good times so special. When I reflect on it, I realise how tough it’s been and how many moments I’ve had where I questioned whether this was the life for me. But the memories, the friends… they’re so special.
It has flown by. It’s been a tough old slog but there’s not much I would change. I’ll miss it dearly but hopefully I can look back at the end of the World Cup and know there’s not too much more I could have given to the shirt.
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