"I always promised myself I would never flog myself into the ground, to the detriment of my performance," Dawson told The Times.

"You can't underestimate the effect rugby has on your body - it's getting harder to play the game as I did four or five years ago.

"This is no reflection on England's recent results, it's all about timing and at some stage you have to be a bit selfish."

First Dawson must focus on Sunday's Powergen Cup final against Llanelli at Twickenham before the conclusion of the Guinness Premiership season.

"It has been a fairly traumatic decision to make and it may surprise some people," he said.

"But there are some great opportunities coming my way that I can't afford to miss out on, which make me very excited about going to that next level of my career. I can go out at the top of my game, still enjoying my rugby."

Dawson made his England debut in the 27-9 win over Samoa at Twickenham in December 1995 and went on to win 77 caps, his last coming in the 28-24 loss to Ireland in Match, also at Twickenham.

The Birkenhead-born player also captained England on nine occasions and won seven full British & Irish Lions caps, playing an integral part in the series win over South Africa in 1997.

London Wasps coach Ian McGeechan paid tribute to Dawson's 14-year stint on the world stage.

"He has been a huge part of English rugby for the past decade - one of the big characters in rugby is leaving the game," he said.

"Matt has played in some of rugby's great team performances and great occasions in recent years, at club level and with England and the Lions.

"I've known him for 12 years, and there has always been something special about him from the beginning.

"It has been fitting to see all that talent come to fruition since then. Despite some serious injuries, Matt's potential has been fulfilled.

"He can leave the game with a lot of satisfaction from his huge contribution to England and Lions' rugby.

"Wasps will miss the huge experience that Matt possesses, but we have some exciting talent emerging at No.9, and will look to our youngsters to find the player to combine with Eoin Reddan going into next season's campaign."