IN 2014 Will Taylor started for Wasps against Harlequins with 82,000 people watching on at a sold-out at Twickenham. Three years later he was selling fruit and vegetables on the streets of London and collecting empty glasses in his friend's nightclub.
They say life is a rollercoaster, but the now 29-year-old from Swansea admits even he could not have anticipated his life taking such a dramatic turn.
As a teenager, Taylor starred for Wales at age grade level as a powerful scrummaging tighthead. Among his teammates were future full internationals Liam Williams, Gareth Davies, Scott Williams and Ashley Beck – men Taylor still counts as close friends.
Taylor's career has panned out very differently to Wales stars Liam Williams, below, and Davies. Having come through the system at the Ospreys, he moved to Wasps where he made 21 appearances before heading back to Wales to play for the Scarlets. It was then he decided to abruptly quit rugby at age 25.
“As a tighthead prop you can make a career bouncing around clubs and sitting on the bench here and there, but I just thought stuff it, I don't fancy doing that,” he said. “My agent got me out of my contract, but I didn't have a clue what I was going to do next. I just knew I didn't want to play rugby anymore as I was sick of it. “I did painting and decorating with one of my good mates in Swansea to begin with. I just tried loads of different jobs to see what I wanted to do. I then moved up to London.
“It was this job on LinkedIn where it was selling you the dream saying the more things you sell, the higher you get up the ladder.
“I then rocked up at this tiny office in Waterloo. You went out and sold fruit and vegetable boxes at Tube stations by stopping people in their tracks.
“I did that for a month and I thought no this isn't for me. My best mate up in London owns nightclubs and restaurants. One shift I had I was collecting glasses in his nightclub. I finished a shift in a restaurant at 9pm and then went to his nightclub at 10pm until 3am collecting glasses.
“I remember thinking ‘How the hell have I got to this?' Three or four years ago I was playing in front of 82,000 people at Twickenham and now I'm collecting glasses for a living.”
Rugby can be a precarious career for many, even those lucky enough to reach the highest level, but Taylor's case shows how quickly former players can go from hero to zero. It was, of course, his choice to leave the game, and he has no regrets.
Fate took a kinder twist for Taylor when he was approached by former Wales centre Sonny Parker who was then director of rugby at London Welsh. Parker offered Taylor the role of strength and conditioning coach at the historic club. Unsure of his future, Taylor initially turned down the offer but, after speaking to his father, he decided to give it a shot with his role at London Welsh prompting him to start his own gym called BARCH Richmond.
He said: “It's gone really well and this is my fourth season. We've got promoted every year. “In the first three seasons Cai Griffiths was player coach so I was on the touchline and basically the coach. I was giving team talks at half time and I enjoyed getting into the lads.
“A little place came up at London Welsh so I took that on and set up a gym. I was there for a year and then lockdown happened.
Luckily, the gym was going well and when we came out of lockdown the gym was too small to get people in there socially distanced. I could only get four or five in there. “I then rented a massive marquee which I put on the pitch at London Welsh. More people kept coming and it kept growing and growing.
“Originally, I thought Covid would be over in three or four months, but that wasn't the case.
It was getting towards September or October and it was getting colder and darker so the mar quee had served its purpose. I had to get a new site and luckily on the new premises there were two squash courts which I've taken over. It was five times the size of my original gym, but if I hadn't taken them over, I probably wouldn't have a gym. That paid off when I opened it up as it was always full with about five classes a day. Now we are back in lockdown doing online stuff.”
So, does Taylor have even the slightest regret at opting for a career away from playing rugby? Surely there is a pang of envy when he's seen Liam Williams win Six Nations Grand Slams with Wales?
“I don't regret quitting professional rugby at all,” Taylor said. “Maybe if I'd had a better attitude when I was younger and especially when I joined the Scarlets, I could have done better, but there are no regrets. I wouldn't be the person I am today if I hadn't gone through those tough times and I'm really happy where I've ended up.”
■ Anyone looking to join BARCH Richmond gym should visit www.barchrichmond.com
