London Wasps have confirmed the appointment of Craig Dowd as Forwards Coach with effect from next season, thus completing the new management team that will take Wasps into the 2005-6 season.

Craig has signed a three-year contract with the club that sees him join a new look Wasps coaching team lead by Director of Rugby Ian McGeechan, with Head Coach Shaun Edwards and Technical Analyst Leon Holden.

Chris Wright, Chairman of London Wasps said of the appointment, "I am delighted that Craig has chosen to pursue this route for his future career, he's been a stalwart member of the club for four seasons. He has all of the attributes necessary to become a top class coach and we are very excited he's going to be part of our ongoing management team."

Future Director of Rugby Ian McGeechan said, "I'm delighted that Wasps have secured someone of Craig's experience and standing as Forwards Coach. I'm very excited about his involvement in the coaching team. His appointment means we are bringing world class experience into the coaching environment, and in Craig we have someone with outstanding knowledge of front five play."

Wasps CEO David Davies confirmed, "Craig's appointment fills the outstanding vacancy in our management team. I'm very pleased that he has taken the step into coaching, and taken it with London Wasps. I wish Craig all the best in his new role, and hope that he is as successful a coach as he was as a player."

Talking about his new post, Craig said, "I'm very excited about taking on my first coaching role under someone like Ian McGeechan. He has a huge reputation and I'm sure I'll learn a lot from working with him.

"The move into coaching is something that I've had in mind for a long time, but being able to do it whilst staying at Wasps is ideal. I want to do what's right by Wasps as they've treated me well over the years. That means carrying on the tradition the club has built over the last two years and winning trophies.

"I'd like to thank Warren and Tony for the last couple of seasons at Wasps and wish them all the best in NZ. Without them going, I wouldn't have this opportunity."

Following his appointment to the coaching team, Craig has announced he will retire as a player at the end of this season. He said, "I know in my heart that I'm ready to retire. I've always said that the time to go will be when the body is not as willing as the mind, and the body is starting to creak a little bit.

"I've been playing first class rugby for sixteen seasons now. It has been a long time, and it's hard to get my head around not putting my boots and being involved next season but I will look back with a lot of fond memories on some very good times.

"I've achieved a lot in the teams that I've played in, although one regret is that I never won the World Cup. But never say never - I'm staying involved in rugby, and who knows.

"However, at the moment my focus is firmly on my next game for Wasps, just getting my head down and concentrating on the rugby, as if I take my eye off the game we could miss out.

"When it finally comes to finishing there will be a bit of sadness but I'd like to think that I can give one of my best performance's on that day. I'd like to go out by getting up on the podium and collecting a medal. I had to sit by and watch the team do so well last year as I missed the two finals through injury so I'd like to be right up there with them and win it again this year.

"I also want to thank my wife Tanya for her unstinting support and being by my side throughout the last sixteen years."

Craig Dowd is the most capped All Black prop in history, winning 60 caps from 1993 to 2000. During his international career Dowd won three Tri-Nations titles (1996, 1997, 1999) and a World Cup Runners-Up medal in 1995, the All Blacks finishing fourth in his second World Cup in 1999.

Dowd's domestic honours include six NPC and two Super 12 titles, two Ranfurly Cup wins and one Gallaher Shield with his club Suburbs, Auckland pr ovince and the Auckland Blues Super 12 team.

The prop joined Wasps in 2001, and was part of the squad that has won the Parker Pen Challenge Cup in 2003, two Zurich Premiership titles in 2003 and 2004 and the Heineken Cup also in 2004, although he missed both 2004 finals having ruptured his achilles at the end of the 2003-4 season.

Craig Dowd made his debut for the All Blacks against the British and Irish Lions in 1993. As the Lions return to New Zealand this summer for the first time since '93, Craig Dowd is the last of the men who played in the '93 Lions Test Series to hang up his boots, and thus his retirement marks the end of one era and the start of another.