JAMES CORDY- REDDEN

Rugby players are known for their hard work, grit and dedication to their craft. However, for some players this

just apply to their work on the pitch.

Ealing Trailfinders winger James Cordy-Redden does just about as much work away from the game as he does playing it, due to his keen eye for business.

When he’s not scoring tries, he is splitting his time on his other two projects, his property investment portfolio and helping to run Punchbowl Valley Vineyard, a wine vineyard in Surrey. We sat down with JCR to delve into his life as a player and as an entrepreneur, and how he balances his two passions.

“It’s not easy.” He says, with a cheeky smirk that perfectly reflects his personality. “But if you’re organised then it’s more than doable.

“We always have a day off, usually a Wednesday, and then on the days we are at the club, our training schedule is finished by 2pm.”

Making time away from rugby is only worth it if he’s committed to his businesses and making them a success. Luckily for JCR, both things apply.

“Investing in property is aways something I’ve been immensely interested in. I did real estate when I was at university and it was something I always wanted to go into.

“I started investing about five years ago and focusing on residential buy-to-lets seemed like the easiest route to start with while I was still playing.”

Although property has always been his interest, the same can’t be said for the vineyard. The passion behind that project lies with Cordy-Redden Senior, but it’s something JCR has been more than happy to help out with.

“The wine was actually my Dad’s idea. It’s something that he’s always wanted to do and so I’m just supporting him with that and then one day I’ll follow in his footsteps.

“It’s the type of thing that I can see myself getting into once I finish playing. It’s not currently as big as we’d like it to be but we’re looking to grow it over the next few years.”

One of the big motivations for someone like JCR when launching these businesses is making sure he’s ready for life after rugby.

“I think you have to be realistic as a rugby player and knowing that you won’t be able to play this sport forever. Most people spend more time retired from the game than they do playing it and so it’s really important to think about what you’re going to do next.

“Back in the day, I think the sport was really poor at preparing players for this and there was very much a mentality of ‘you should only focus on rugby and everything else is a distraction’ but thankfully that’s changed now.

“The club are also good in encouraging boys, especially the ones towards the end of their career, to think about what they’re going to do next and supporting us through this process.”

However, it’s not just his life after rugby that his businesses have helped. JCR also thinks that having a focus away from the game has helped his performances on the field.

“Being a rugby player, there’s peaks and troughs throughout the season. One minute you’re hot and you’re playing every week, next minute you’re not playing at all.

“If you’re not playing, it can be very frustrating so being able to have something outside of the whole environment can be really beneficial.

“When you come into training, you know that when you’re here you can put your full focus into rugby, but it also gives you the ability to switch off and go and put your mind to something else when you leave.

“It means when things aren’t going your way, either in selection or form, you’re probably not going to be dwelling on it as much as if you weren’t doing anything else outside of rugby.”

And it’s not just in theory that this applies for JCR, after being involved in the first few games of the season, he found himself out of favour until the Championship Cup came back around in February. He used this opportunity to reclaim his place, claiming Player of the Month for February, before scoring five tries in two games at the start of March.