Highs and lows of Will's rollercoaster

Steffan Thomas talks to former Wasp Will Taylor about life after quitting rugby age 25

- Steffan Thomas

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.