LONDON (AP) — Here's the irony: Abby Dow is not a hugger.
“I'm not,” says the England winger whose crocheted art, which she calls little acts of love, have made lifelong friends of opponents at the Women's Rugby World Cup and earned the admiration of thousands including Kate, the Princess of Wales.
Dow told the podcast The Good, The Scaz & The Rugby this month she's awkward about hugs and much happier if the other person initiates.
But she's been getting a ton of hugs in the World Cup thanks to her crochet . Dow makes tiny game jerseys detailed with the number and colors of her same-numbered opposite to present after games as bespoke key chains. The gesture is massively popular.
There was one for U.S. winger Emily Henrich — “It was the whole reason I wanted to start (the game),” Henr