Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025: England and Leicester hooker Amy Cockayne hints at retirement

Cockayne, who received her first permanent contract with the Red Roses in 2019, will be 29 when the World Cup takes place in England in August and September next year.

A 2020-21 top flight champion with Harlequins, the RAF vice-chancellor has seen the sport become one that requires players to “dedicate their whole lives to it”.

“We joke that we only have five weeks of vacation a year, and it’s all in one block,” she said.

“When I go on holiday, say with friends, I have to run and work out in the gym four times a week.

“They ask, ‘Why are you doing this? We’re on vacation.” These are the things that make your life different.

“I’m more than happy to do it at the moment, but whether I’ll be more than happy to do it when I’m in my 30s, I’m not sure.”

Having won the top division of the inaugural WXV tournament in New Zealand in 2023, Cockayne has just returned from repeating his triumph in Canada.

“It’s still new and finding its feet, but it’s been really good,” she said of the three-tier competition between national teams.

“As players, the more matches we can play against the best teams in the world, the better.

“Of course, there was a lot of jet lag in the first week back. For a while I was still living on Canadian time.

“When I came back into the dark cold of Leicester that we had, it was a bit of a shock.”