Scotland lock McMillan retires at 29 after rejecting contract over pay and mental toll

Louise McMillan has retired from international rugby at the age of 29, having turned down a Scotland contract earlier this year that she said no longer fitted her life or her finances.

The Saracens lock lost her professional Scotland contract in the summer of 2025, three years after first being awarded one in 2022. With no central deal in place, McMillan returned to full-time employment, taking a role in operations at an insurance company. When a new contract was offered, the terms would have meant accepting considerably less money than her current salary.

“I was offered to go to work and play in Glasgow for a lot, lot less money than I make in my full-time job,” McMillan said. “So just lifestyle-wise a full-time contract in Scotland just didn’t work anymore.”

The financial calculation was compounded by the physical and emotional cost of trying to do both. McMillan used her entire annual leave allowance to participate in the Six Nations, and found the dual commitment unsustainable over time. “After Six Nations, the toll of doing that and a full-time job, I just realised that it is just so unsustainable,” she said. “Lots of adult reasons unfortunately, quite tough ones, but it just didn’t quite work for my life anymore.”

McMillan also revealed that her relationship with rugby had become strained during her final period in the Scotland setup. She was not selected for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 squad, and described a difficult period in which weekly feedback from coaching staff left her confidence badly damaged.

“Every week I was told ‘this isn’t good enough’,” she said. “It was really hard to see the joy in it. I sometimes felt a bit put down. I didn’t realise how much confidence I had lost in myself.”

By contrast, McMillan credited Saracens with helping her rediscover her sense of self after the Scotland drop. “As soon as I was dropped from Scotland the entire club metaphorically and literally wrapped their arms around me,” she said. “I got so much trust and reassurance which I really needed at the time.”

When Sione Fukofuka was appointed as Scotland’s new head coach, McMillan did consider a return. Her Saracens head coach Alex Austerberry encouraged her to take a call from Fukofuka, which she did, and the discussions were described as positive. Ultimately, however, the financial and lifestyle barriers proved decisive, and McMillan chose to step away from the international game.