'England rejection hurt' - Infante retires from rugby

Leanne Infante will retire from professional rugby on Sunday

Former England scrum-half Leanne Infante said it "hurt" when she was frozen out by the national side as she announced her retirement from professional rugby.

The 31-year-old Saracens player won three Six Nations titles with the Red Roses but has not been selected since the World Cup in 2022.

In an exclusive interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Infante said she had not had any conversations with selectors.

"They've made it pretty clear I'm not part of their future plans so I kind of let go of that a long time ago," Infante, nee Riley, said.

In an 11-year career, Infante won the Women's Premiership with Aylesford Bulls in 2017, before the club was taken over by Harlequins, and then won the Premier 15s with Quins in 2021.

Infante made her international debut against South Africa in 2013 and went on to earn 57 caps.

"The reality is professional sport is cruel, there's not many people who get to retire on their own terms internationally," Infante said.

"It hurt for a while and there were peaks and troughs between that time period.

"I thought I was over it and then I'd take a backward step, but that's all probably far in the past now and I can talk about it openly and non-emotionally."

'My time was cut shorter than I wanted'

Infante, whose career started at Saracens and included spells with Richmond and Bristol Bears, is set to make her 100th and final Sarries appearance against last season's champions Gloucester-Hartpury at StoneX Stadium on Sunday.

She says maintaining a work-life balance had been hard and she was looking forward to focusing on her career in finance but that she "will definitely stay in the game".

"Everyone wants to play for England as long as they can and achieve as much as they can during that time," Infante added.

"My time was cut shorter than what I wanted to do. I'm a true believer that everything happens for a reason.

"That's when the finance door started opening up and I'm very grateful I had those conversations as early as I did.

"[It is] nice to have my name and face on the 100 wall at Saracens.

"To say I'm going to bow out at 100 was really important to me."