North Berwick rugby star Megan Gaffney has announced her retirement from international rugby after an "illustrious" career at the top level.

The winger made 45 appearances for the senior women’s side, while representing Scotland at both U18 and U20 level and also representing the thistle on the world stage as part of the Scotland 7s set-up.

The 31-year-old made her international debut off the bench against the Netherlands in Amsterdam in November 2011 and her first start against England at Esher in the 2013 Women’s Six Nations opener.

She scored her first points for Scotland against the Netherlands, running in two of the five tries in the FIRA WRWC 2014 qualifier win.

Gaffney played a key part in helping Scotland 7s to qualify for their first ever Commonwealth Games event, before going on to compete at the 2022 Birmingham games.

She made her final appearance for Scotland Women against Wales during the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, bowing out in style after scoring two tries in the narrow pool stage loss to Wales

Speaking of her decision to retire, Gaffney said: “It is the right time. I feel like I want to put energy into other things in my life and I would never want to wear the thistle if I felt I couldn’t give it my all so it’s a timing thing and where I am at in my life more than anything else.

"I just want to leave the jersey in a good place and I feel like I have done that.”

Speaking about her career she thanked the people in North Berwick that helped her rediscover her love for the game.

“When I was 15, Suzanne Ritchie, who was a teacher of mine at school, started a girls rugby club at the high school in North Berwick.

"I feel like if that hadn’t happened, I probably wouldn’t have got back into the sport and played to this level.

"She was very encouraging and drove us all over to training days and just having someone willing to put in that commitment allowed me to explore rugby a bit more."

As the Six Nations is about to get underway, Gaffney will still be supporting her former teammates from the sidelines encourages others to do the same and get behind the women's game.

She said: “Just keep supporting women’s rugby. We are at a point now where we are putting on good shows and we just want more people to come and enjoy what we do. Keep involved, keep following and come watch us play.

"We couldn’t do this without the supporters and they make it even more special. They are part of it as much as the players.”