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Jackson Wray: Saracens forward says rugby shutdown is helping players think about life after retirement

Wray: "I have always been in the mind space to be working on something.": Getty Images
Wray: "I have always been in the mind space to be working on something.": Getty Images

If ever there was a time where rugby players were forced to think about life after they hang up their boots, then it is now.

The sport is currently going through an unprecedented period in England due to the outbreak of coronavirus, with all rugby for the rest of the season - excluding the Premiership - cancelled.

The Premiership, however, has not been unaffected as the mass postponement of games has left clubs in financial difficulty.

Players and staff at many clubs have been forced to take pay cuts until matches start again, with Saracens one of several sides to confirm everyone’s salaries will be slashed by 25 per cent.

It is a difficult and uncertain time for all, but the break from rugby has also forced players to think long and hard about what life will be like when they retire.

“I have always been in the mind space to be working on something,” says Saracens forward Jackson Wray.

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

“I did my degree after school in psychology and then I did a work placement in London at a psychometric company, Thomas International. Then I did some mentoring in football academies, some business coaching alongside that as well.

“This helps me focus a bit more on that. But for some people for sure this period is definitely going to be a bit of an eye-opener to think - right, well this is what it is going to be like.”

With Premiership Rugby still hoping the season can continue, Wray and his Saracens’ team-mates are still training - albeit at home.

Before that they were working at the training ground, but due to government guidelines sessions were confined to small groups and involved no contact.

“It was quite odd I must admit,” Wray says.

“We were basically doing weights and running in small groups. We were in the gym with five or six people, spread around training individually. We were doing bits of running as well, but that was as much as we could do.”

For Wray, one plus of the rugby lockdown is that it has enabled him to focus on his own business, eighty20 cold brew, which, it should be stressed, he founded alongside two of his friends from school.

This is not, as has been in the news this season, another one of the co-investments that led to Saracens being relegated.

“It is not a co-investment, fortunately,” says Wray. “Or unfortunately - it depends how successful it is.

“But no, it is all mine and my partners’ money. We will be keeping hold of as much of the equity for as long as possible, that’s for sure.”

As strange as it may seem from the outside, coffee and rugby are inseparable in the modern game and drinking it has quickly become the favourite pastime of players.

On England duty, Jamie George and Elliot Daly are the go-to ‘baristas’ - essentially turning their room into a cafe - and Wray reveals on Saracens’ European away trips the search to find the best coffee is relentless.

“It could be a 10-minute taxi. I am not kidding,” he says. “We were in Paris for the Racing 92 game and we got in a 15-minute Uber to a coffee shop to get our coffee and then come home.

“I am not even joking. We didn’t even go in the shop! We got it and left. We did the same in Cork when we went to play Munster.”

That passion for coffee extends to Wray and his school friends, and they opted to go into the market simply because they had never been able to find a cold brew that satisfied their needs.

They have since made their own brew, which is sold in cans and can be bought online, and it can also be used as pre-workout drink or even as a mixer for cocktails.

Wray's eighty20 cold brew.
Wray's eighty20 cold brew.

Listening to Wray it is clear he is a lover of great coffee, speaking about beans and roasting temperatures as if he was explaining tackle technique or how to clear a ruck, and it is unsurprising to learn he scoured the world for the right beans before eventually opting for those from the Camocim Estate in Brazil.

“The one thing with coffee is that it is very much like wine - harvests vary,” he says. “Fortunately we found a really good one and we are really, really happy with it.

“I am big on where the farm is, how they farm it, how they wash it. I am big on everything like that.

“All of us thought, can we make a drink? Can we make a drink that infuses supplements with coffee, but is predominantly a really great product by itself.

“Coffee has got a lot of things in it which are good. Caffeine is great for recovery. We are looking to increase supplements in the drinks to try and help people’s lifestyles. Our first product with this in mind is our +CBD product, which we are very excited about.

“With a high-caffeine content it is great for pre-training, but we see it as a lot more than that. It can offer a lot to things like cocktails bars. I think it’s great in a cold brew martini…espresso’s cooler cousin.

“There are three calories in a can - no fat, no artificial sugar. It is basically the cleanest energy kick that you can get, that tastes great.”

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