The 35-year-old – who will remain at Lightning as an Assistant Coach – signed off her illustrious playing career as a part of the England squad that lifted the 2025 Rugby World Cup on home soil this summer.
It was Scarratt’s fifth Rugby World Cup – a record for an English rugby player across both the men’s and women’s games – and her second winners’ medal following her maiden triumph in 2014. That is in addition to her 11 Six Nations titles achieved across a glittering 17-year international career that saw her amass 119 Red roses caps and be named World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year in 2019.
“What happened at the World Cup was a big factor in making this decision,” said Scarratt. “It was such was an amazing occasion, not only for the players, but also in terms of what it can do for growing the game.
“Everything that happened in the stadiums across England, it was just amazing. I don’t really see a better ending to it than that. I contemplated could I play one more game? Should I play a bit longer? But, for me, I have done everything I wanted to do. My body is in a good place, it just feels like the right time.
“The neck injury I had a couple of years ago could’ve forced me into retirement then, so I feel lucky to have the ability to make the decision myself and do it on my own terms.”
Scarratt underwent major neck surgery in September 2023 that saw her miss 13 months of action, but recovered to make her return to Lightning colours against Bristol Bears in February of last year. She calls time on her career with 53 appearances and 305 points for Loughborough under her belt – more than any other Lightning player.
After starting her rugby journey at Leicester Forest, Scarratt excelled on the club scene for Lichfield, before winning a bronze medal in the shortened form of the game at the 2018 Commonwealth Games with Great Britain 7s. Upon her return, she signed for Loughborough Lightning and made her debut against Worcester Warriors in January 2019, earning the heritage number #063 in the process.
Scarratt’s international pursuits in both 7s and 15s, plus injury setbacks, limited her availability across the years for the African Violets. But her last of seven seasons for the Club would prove to be one of her most prolific, as she started 13 of their 16 games in the 2024/25 campaign and achieved a half-century of appearances against Exeter Chiefs in January of this year.
“When I finished playing 7s I was looking for a club and living in London at the time,” said the Leicester-born star. “Loughborough gave me an opportunity to come back a bit closer to family.
“I had some friends playing at Loughborough in Katy Daley-McLean and Sarah Hunter. It felt like the right place to be. It doesn’t feel like it was only five or six years ago that I was making that choice!
“Bringing up the 50 for a club is always cool, it was nice to do that with the girls around me at that time. I’d have liked to have given a little bit more but that’s just not what circumstances dictated with a couple of big injuries along the way. But nonetheless, whether it was on field or off it, I’ve loved every minute in an African Violet shirt.”
Scarratt’s playing days at Loughborough may be at an end, but she will remain a regular presence at Epinal Way and on the sidelines at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, operating with Head Coach Nathan Smith as an Assistant Coach, paying particular focus to the backs.
Her coaching journey began under Smith’s predecessor, Rhys Edwards, when she was initially juggling her playing commitments for club and country with coaching the men’s BUCS 2 side while successfully completing her RFU Level 3 coaching course.
Scarratt would then use her immense experience to benefit the BUCS women’s side alongside former Lightning teammate Katie Trevarthen, before, in more recent times, coaching Lightning’s senior side’s backs division alongside head coach Smith during the 2024/25 Premiership Women’s Rugby campaign.
Alongside her fellow Red Roses, Scarratt returned to Loughborough last week as preparations ramp up for the 2025/26 PWR season – which kicks off for Lightning on Friday night with the curtain-raising Round 1 clash away at Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop.
“I am really looking forward to this season,” Scarratt added. “I have loved being back in the first week, we have got some great girls who have been there throughout the summer and others who are joining from being away at the World Cup.
“What we always have at Loughborough is a great pathway system and so many talented young players coming through; I am looking forward to working with them, whether that is off field and dealing with the pressure that come with it or rugby specific matters.
“We finished last season strongly. We want to pick up where we left off, obviously it is not going to be as easy as that, but I am looking forward to what the season holds.”
Smith heads a strong coaching team at Lightning this season that also includes Matt Campbell, who has led Loughborough University to successive BUCS Super Rugby finals, and former Wales international and Sale Sharks head coach, Rachel Taylor.
“First and foremost, I want to congratulate Scaz on her remarkable rugby playing career,” said Smith. “She is an icon of the game, and it has been a pleasure to be part of the final years of her career.
“A lot will be said about Scaz and her achievements within the game, and rightly so, but what I want people to remember is just how good a player she was.
“Scaz had it all. She is pound for pound one of the best players I have seen, and I am pleased that she gets to finish the game on her own terms.
“We are delighted that Scaz will be staying with Loughborough Lightning and Loughborough University in a coaching capacity, and she will be pivotal in the development of the game as a whole and the next generation of players.”
Alongside her coaching role with Lightning, Scarratt will also take on a specialist coaching and mentoring role with the RFU this season, supporting player development across the England pathways and helping nurture the next generation of talent.
Red Roses Head Coach John Mitchell said: “Emily is a once-in-a-generation player. Her quality, her calmness under pressure, and her ability to lead by example set the standard for everyone around her.
“There was no better example of this than the role she played during the recent World Cup, where she added immense value off the field, despite not playing as much as she might have hoped for - that is just the kind of special person that she is.
“She’s had a huge impact on the Red Roses and on women’s rugby globally, and we’re thrilled she’ll continue to share that experience through a different role.”