Julian White has reached rugby’s highest summit and now spends his days tending to various animals as a full-time farmer.
White, 52, made over half a century caps for England, played for the British and Irish Lions, and became a World Cup winner in 2003.
His efforts as a tighthead prop, one of the world’s most disruptive scrummagers, saw White made an MBE the following year for his services to rugby union.
But despite those working in his new field thinking that he is a multi-millionaire after appearing on the sport’s biggest stage, White insists that is far from the case and he now spends his days at a Leicestershire farm.
He, with wife Sara, started the farm in 2006 towards the end of his rugby career. The rugby icon worked in farming as a child and has since won national awards for their South Devon cattle, hosting 90 of them along with 600 sheep.
“It was fantastic at Leicester but I started thinking about life after rugby,” he told The Telegraph. “I rented a field, had a few sheep. And if you just have one thing to focus on – just rugby – it’s not healthy.
“A lot of them (other farmers) are quite cagey. And, because I was a rugby player, they have this bizarre idea that I’m some sort of multi-millionaire, but I’m nowhere near that.”
At the Brampton Ash farm, White also hosts guests at their nearby glamping site, where visitors can see the animals and in spring, also lambs.
But White has insisted that the lifestyle is not as glamorous as it may seem from the outside looking in, noting the difficulties that have accompanied running his own farm after retiring from rugby.
“There have been huge setbacks,” he explained. “We had the ‘Beast from the East’ during lambing season and suddenly all my lambs were frozen in the pens, stuff like that.
“You were struggling to break even anyway and then you have that to deal with. Floods. It can be an absolute b***ard.
“I don’t want to sound like one of these moany farmers. I love what I do. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing it.”
Farming has been a contentious topic as of late, with thousands joining Jeremy Clarkson in protest of changes to inheritance tax.
But White continues to be enamoured with his second career, described as “in his element” when caring for his ewes on the farm, albeit a far cry from his most recognisable time as one of the faces of English rugby during their 2003 World Cup win.
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Author : rugby-247
Publish date : 2025-01-25 15:14:12
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