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'I feel incredible' - Dow credits teammates after 50th Red Roses try
By Joe Harvey at Ashton Gate, Bristol
Abby Dow credited her teammates after she scored her 50th international try in England’s 40-8 win over Scotland.
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The result secured World Rugby’s top-ranked side with a semi-final encounter with France at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
It was a dominant day at the office for England, who also saw Kelsey Clifford, Morwenna Talling, Amy Cokayne and Holly Aitchison cross the whitewash in a performance that their head coach, John Mitchell, described as “terrific”.
“I feel incredible,” Dow said. “I think it’s a credit to everyone on the team, it’s a collation of everyone’s work for the years that I’ve played on the wing.
“There is no doubt that it requires a whole team to put your winger into the space to score.”
Ahead of the World Cup getting underway Dow was the face of a Red Roses campaign which implored supporters to create their own team-related yarn art.
Dow is a keen crocheter within the England camp. She has become known for giving her opposite numbers a miniature wool version of their playing shirt and is always seen on the pitch with her handmade hair scrunchies.
At full-time on Sunday afternoon the 27-year-old presented crochet whistles for the match officials.
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Around Ashton Gate crocheted ribbons of Red Roses were wrapped around lamp posts and reams of yarn adorned supporters in the south west.
“I actually love seeing the number of crochet scrunchies in the crowd,” Dow said.
“I tackled one person and I was like, ‘there’s another crochet scrunchie’. It was very fun, and I just love that there is so much love to share in this World Cup.
“The fans have been incredible, everyone’s been crocheting behind closed doors and loving it, just spreading the joy and love.
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“One of the reasons I got into crocheting is because my love language is gift-giving and now I’m getting all these crochet gifts from the crowd, all the fans are giving me their love and I love it. It’s very cute.”
Next up for Dow and her teammates are France. The world’s fourth-ranked side, Gaelle Mignot and David Ortiz’s side had to overturn a 13 point deficit at Sandy Park to beat Ireland 18-13.
The Red Roses took on France before the World Cup got underway in late August.
On that balmy afternoon in Mont-de-Marsan, it was England that registered a 40-6 win as the French send-off fell flat.
That knowledge of their opponents acts as a soother to Dow, who hopes to continue relishing a tournament on home soil.
“We’ve got a six-day turnaround which is a bit of a tight one, but we know France so it’s okay,” Dow said. “It’s really important that we have downtime
“One of the great things about having a home World Cup is that you can really take the time to see your friends and family.
“It’s not a common thing for us and it’s an absolute privilege; it gives us the building blocks to make you come into camp and remember who you are, which helps your performance.”