Dawson to call it a day

England's World Cup-winning scrum-half Matt Dawson has announced he will retire from rugby at the end of the season.

The 33-year-old's decision comes as a blow to England coach Andy Robinson ahead of next year's World Cup defence.

Wasps player Dawson is England's most-capped scrum-half but enjoyed limited opportunities in the recent RBS Six Nations debacle with Leicester's Harry Ellis playing an increasingly prominent role in the future of English rugby.

Dawson said: "I always promised myself I would never flog myself into the ground, to the detriment of my performance.

"You can't underestimate the effect rugby has on your body - it's getting harder to play the game as I did four or five years ago.

"This is no reflection on England's recent results, it's all about timing and at some stage you have to be a bit selfish."

First Dawson must focus on Sunday's Powergen Cup final against Llanelli at Twickenham before the conclusion of the Guinness Premiership season.

"It has been a fairly traumatic decision to make and it may surprise some people.

"But there are some great opportunities coming my way that I can't afford to miss out on, which make me very excited about going to that next level of my career. I can go out at the top of my game, still enjoying my rugby," he told The Times.

Dawson, who made his name at Northampton, insists talk of entering the coaching side of the game is premature.

"The game probably requires that kind of coaching more than ever," he said.

"There is no way I should be playing for England, or sitting on the bench, at 33, with relatively little pressure."