The former Wasps, Leicester, Jersey and Ealing back rower talks about his life in the game
I think I am right in saying that I'm the only player to go through all the National Leagues consecutively to make it to the Premiership.
Things didn't really work out for me when I went to Gloucester straight from University, but my subsequent journey from Hereford (Nat 3), Richmond (Nat 2), Jersey (Nat 1/Champ) to Wasps and then Leicester shows that a false start doesn't have to lead to a dead end.
After Gloucester decided not to keep me on, I kind of stepped away from rugby. I grew up with my mum, a single parent, and neither of us really knew how the rugby system worked and what the pathway was. So I ended up playing locally for Hereford for 50 quid a week and it was only when I was introduced to Rob Cain – the current USA women's head coach – that things took off for me.
Rob was coaching a 7s team called Templar and he took me out to Dubai with them. At the tournament, I met a load of players from the Richmond women's team, who were out there playing for the Pink Baa-Baas. One of them was TJ (Jenny Sutton), an England player at the time, and she is still one of my best friends. She has an incredible rugby brain and we'd sit and talk about the game even when I was at Wasps.
The girls got me over to Richmond and it was while I was playing there part-time alongside having an office job in London that I got scouted by Jersey. My dad's from Jersey and I've got lots of family over here, so when the opportunity came up to represent the island, it was something I was really proud to do. People over here think of themselves as being from Jersey, not English, so I know how important it is to wear the shirt.
Two types of players come to Jersey. One lot see it as a bit of a party island and don't really buy in to the culture and they don't last very long or you get the type of person who comes in and understands it's a really special place and if you give something to the island, they'll give 10-times back. Jersey has helped launched or reinvigorate many a player's career, and I was no different. Having been nominated for the Championship Player of the Award (finishing second to Tim Streather) in 2013, I signed for Wasps.
I loved playing at Wasps, it was a team of star-studded players. We had an incredible squad… in the back-three alone we had Christian Wade, Kurtley Beale and Willie Le Roux. And the year before, we had George Smith. All these players that Wasps signed had an aura about them and they massively pushed standards on the training field. If you didn't up your game, it could be quite embarrassing and wouldn't get picked. Having those amazing players around me allowed me to just play my game. Kyle Eastmond would open the gaps up, for example, and I'd just run straight. I knew that in training if I did my job, they would do everything else.
What made it even better was that they were all really humble and wanted everyone to learn and to do well, there were no egos. Opinions were shared, we went out on to the field and we delivered and we had a hell of a season, finishing top in my third season. The defeat to Exeter in the final was tough. I came on for Thomas Young for an HIA in the first half and he came off again just after half-time so I went on and replaced him. It was bloody hot!
As well as the rock stars, there were quite a few boys in the squad like myself who'd come up from the Champ, people like Tom Cruse and Alex Rieder. As well as enjoying each other's company and having a laugh at each other's expense – luckily for Rieder he had very thick skin – we had mutual respect for one another that we'd made it to the Premiership via the Championship. Don't get me wrong, I loved my time in the Championship and I'd love to see it restored to how it used to be, but it was a tough old slog at time; it's where you earned your stripes.
I was also lucky to have some amazing coaches. When I joined Wasps we had Stephen Jones as our attack coach, one of the best 10s to ever play the game. He made rugby really simple and offered some really good shape. I had some great defence coaches too, Phil Blake for a bit and then Brad ‘Viva' Davis.
“I loved playing my rugby at Wasps, a team of star players but with no egos”
Throughout my Premiership career I alternated between seven and eight. But it wasn't really the number on my back that dictated how I played the game, it was more to do with the make-up of the back row on any given matchday and doing what was best for the team. If I played with Nathan Hughes, he'd be the main carrier because of his size, then I'd pick off the second or third carry in which I'd find a bit more space. If I played with Thomas, I'd let Thomas be first up to try and turnover the ball. We'd play to each other's strengths.
Going to Leicester was a tough decision. I loved being at Wasps, I'd been there five years. But with the players they'd signed I thought game time might become a bit limited and I fancied a change. I met with a couple of other clubs but Leicester seemed to be the most interested in me going there and I shook hands on the first meeting with Matty O'Connor, made the deal happen, and moved up there. I got a slight knee niggle, missed the first game and Leicester lost by 50 away to Exeter. Matty got sacked and I never got to play for him.
Geordy (Geordan Murphy) stepped up and we had a tough year. Relegation was still a very real possibility until we won up at Newcastle on a Friday night. I turned the ball over in the last play of the game on our own line and we won the penalty and that kind of won us the game.
After Tigers, I had a couple of options in France and things like that but I signed for Ealing. France would have been loads more money and a great opportunity, but for me the most important thing was planning for post-rugby and I really wanted to finish my MBA. Also, when I spoke to Ealing, I was excited by the project, and I think Wardy (DoR Ben Ward) is doing an incredible job. They've got a helluva squad, signing people like Jonah Holmes, and Si Uzokwe is looking great and should be at a Premiership side. It would be a shame if they didn't get the opportunity to go up some time soon. I loved it there but I always knew I wanted to end my career back in Jersey and, thankfully, I got that opportunity.
Would I change anything? No. If you'd have told me in Jersey all those years ago that I'd make 100 appearances for Wasps, help Leicester avoid relegation and play 40-odd times for them, win a Cup with Ealing and finish with an MBA, I would not have believed you. I've come out of it on my own terms, and my body feels pretty good, which I am thankful for.
The only bit of advice I'd give everyone is to remember rugby is such a short career – especially in the current climate – and to make sure if it ended immediately you'd have another job to go to. After retiring at the end of last season, I'm now working as a wealth manager for an investment firm in Jersey called LGT – so slightly different to what I used to be doing!
