Shaunagh Brown discusses her retirement from rugby in her BBC Sport column

I decided to retire from rugby today.

I'm proud of what I've achieved, but I know it's time for me to move on with my life.

Rugby has been my identity for the past seven years and there are some real-life considerations involved in retiring.

I need to pay my mortgage. I didn't have enough money to save for a rainy day because I didn't earn enough money playing rugby. I have nothing to worry about now that my playing career is over.

• England prop Brown calls time on rugby career

I have a lot of decisions to make, so there won't be much time for me to reflect on my career.

I should have thought about what I was going to do a year ago, but I didn't.

I didn't know when the World Cup would happen. People don't usually give you a job in advance.

It's the only thing on your mind when you're getting ready for the World Cup. It's difficult to plan for your future.

'I am heartbroken to miss Twickenham game'

The World Cup final is one of the proudest achievements I've had in my career.

The result isn't good. If we had four more points, we would have defeated New Zealand. If that had happened, life would have been different.

Our platform could have been a lot bigger if we had more points on the board.

In front of a record crowd of 42,579 people, we achieved the highest level of rugby.

I've proven myself to myself. It makes sense to leave rugby now.

It's not an easy decision when the sport is growing so fast.

I am very sad that I won't be playing in the Women's Six Nations game against France.

There have been 25,000 tickets sold for the Red Roses game, which is the first of its kind.

I'm sad that I've taken myself out of historic moments, but it's the right decision for me at the moment.

'I am proud of my diversity work'

I'm proud of my work in diversity.

I have come to realize that is the thing that motivates me the most. I know I have an effect on many people because I play as a mixed race woman.

Being in the rooms where mixed race women aren't has been a part of diversity work for me.

Growing up lifting weights in the gym, being a British Gas heating engineer, being a firefighter, and sometimes being the only person of colour in the room were some of the things I've done.

I didn't know people needed to see someone do something on their own.

It's helpful to talk about what it's like to be there as well as being in the room.

I was the only person of color in the dressing room when I first started working in England.

I didn't know I'd feel different. You see how different you are when you spend a lot of time with your teammates.

I didn't think I should be there. I competed in hammer throw at the Commonwealth Games and when I switched sports my black friends from athletics thought it was difficult to move from that to a group of mostly white people.

It's just having people with the same culture as you. You just know that connection that is hidden.

I try to talk about what that feels like in the hopes that others will find themselves in the same situation.

'I have applied for Gladiators'

There are some important decisions to be made.

I'll miss messages from people saying that they are going to give rugby a try because they watched me play, or from parents telling me that their girls have changed because of rugby.

I will try to make that same contribution off the field.

I want to spread the message that diversity and inclusion are important.

I would like to have more time to work on the causes. I would love to be a part of a movement that would stop schools from forcing girls to wear skirts or dress up in sports gear. There ought to be more choices.

I'm applying for the TV show Gladiators. I took up rugby after I retired from hammer throw.

Brown was talking to a person.

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