Abigail Dow (born 29 September 1997,

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

) is an English rugby player. She is a member of the England women's national rugby team and a winger for

Ealing Trailfinders Women Ealing Trailfinders Women are a women's rugby union club based in Ealing, Greater London. They currently compete in Premiership Women's Rugby, the highest division of women's rugby union in England. History Amateur side In the 2010–11 sea ...

at club level. In November 2023 she was nominated for the

World Rugby Women's 15s Player of the Year The World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year is awarded annually by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards The World Rugby Awards are given out annually by World Rugby (until November 2014, known as the International Rugby Board), the worldwi ...

International career

Dow made her England debut in the 2017 Old Mutual Wealth Series against

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, where she scored five tries in her first two appearances. During the

2018 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2018 Women's Six Nations Championship, also known as the 2018 RBS Women's Six Nations sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby union competition between six Europ ...

, she started three of England's matches and scored three tries. England finished in second place. She featured once during the

2019 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2019 Women's Six Nations Championship was the 18th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby union competition between six European rugby union national teams. Matches were held in February and March 2019, on the ...

, scoring a try as England defeated Wales. England went on to win the

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

. She played again for England in the

2020 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2020 Women's Six Nations Championship was the 19th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby union competition between six European rugby union national teams. Matches were originally scheduled for February and ...

, scoring four tries in three matches and becoming a Grand Slam winner for the second time. In 2020, she was awarded a professional contract with the England Women's Rugby team. In February 2021 she was considered England’s first choice full back. She missed the first match of the

2021 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship was the 20th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby union competition between England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The 2021 tournament was given a change o ...

due to a family bereavement, but returned for England's 67-3 win over Italy where she scored two of England's nine tries. England won the championship outright, with Dow scoring ten points for the team across the course of the tournament. She was named in the England squad for the delayed

2021 Rugby World Cup The 2021 Rugby World Cup was the ninth staging of the women's Rugby World Cup, as organised by World Rugby. It was held from 8 October to 12 November 2022 in Auckland and Whangārei, New Zealand. It was originally scheduled to be held in 2021, ...

held in New Zealand in October and November 2022. She suffered a head injury in the final, due to a high tackle. Playing in the Six Nations in 2023, Dow scored four tries against Italy.

Club career

In 2016, Dow joined

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, where she played as a right wing. She was given a professional contract with the club in 2020. Following the Rugby World Cup 2021, Dow joined Harlequins for the 2022-23 season of the Allianz Premier 15s. In May 2023, Dow was announced as the first signing for

Ealing Trailfinders Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the current champions of the RFU Championship but will remain in that league due to ineligibility for promotion to Premi ...

Women for their maiden season in the Allianz Premier 15s (2023–24).

Early life and education

Dow started playing rugby at about five years old. Her dad, Paul Dow, coached at Maidenhead Rugby club so she started out there, later moving to Reading to play for the girls' team. Her sister, Ruth, also played for Reading. Both sisters were chosen for the England South West Women’s rugby sevens side. Ruth played flanker and played in the Premiership for Wasps and for England U20s before a temporary injury interruption. Dow's brother, Chris Dow, also played for Maidenhead. In January 2021, Dow completed a Masters in Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London, where she achieved first class honours. She was a swimmer until the age of 16 when she decided to focus on rugby.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dow, Abby 1997 births Living people England women's international rugby union players English female rugby union players Rugby union players from Slough Rugby union wings Wasps Women rugby players Ealing Trailfinders Women players Harlequins Women rugby players Alumni of Imperial College London