Aaron Wainwright was recently crowned the best rugby player in WalesBut the 27-year-old is still coaching at his boyhood club during his spare timeWainwright is now sporting an unrecognisable look as he goes under the radar
As the floodlights flicker under the night sky, the best player in Wales last season is almost unrecognisable as he goes about his business at his boyhood club.
Aaron Wainwright’s ability to stay below the radar is perhaps helped by his new look – a bushy beard which he is refusing to shave off until he returns from injury.
At Whiteheads RFC in Newport, Wainwright – the Dragons and Wales No 8 – is just another one of the boys. Wainwright coaches both the senior and junior sides at the club in the few free hours he gets away from playing professionally.
‘I’ve always said after I finish playing, I want to come back and play here,’ Wainwright said. ‘That’s a goal of mine.
‘I saw Gavin Henson played for Pencoed recently! Some of the guys I have coached over the last couple of years here I have played with too, so it’s quite a good affiliation.’
Aaron Wainwright was the best player in Wales last season but still coaches at his boyhood club in his spare time
Wainwright coaches both the senior and junior sides at Whiteheads RFC in Newport
Wainwright is almost unrecognisable with his new look sporting a bushy beard and moustache
This week, Wainwright was crowned the runaway winner of the Lloyd Lewis award for the best Wales men’s player for the 2023/24 season – an honour handed down by the media who cover the game in the country.
It is a prestigious gong, but Wainwright’s status as a key international figure for Warren Gatland’s side doesn’t stop him from still working at grassroots level.
In the days of professionalism, it is hugely refreshing to see players such as Wainwright give back to the community game which gave him the platform to make it to the very top.
‘I played youth rugby and seven or eight games of senior rugby at Whiteheads,’ Wainwright said.
‘I’ve got my level two coaching badge but I don’t think I could see myself doing anything more serious than this at the moment. It’s good just to come down here and have a laugh.
‘After the games I play, I come back here and they’re happy enough to get stuck into me as much as I am to get stuck into them at training and on Saturday.
‘It brings you straight back down to earth, but it’s great.’
Wainwright, 27, was a standout player for Wales in 2023/24 in what was a tough campaign for Gatland’s team. Wales have lost their last nine Tests.
Away from coaching, Wainwright was crowned the runaway winner of the Lloyd Lewis award for the best Wales men’s player for the 2023/24 season
Wainwright has plans to one day return as a player at his boyhood club once he has finished playing
Wainwright described it as ‘surreal’ to be crowned the best player in his country. He follows in the footsteps of some of the country’s true greats in winning the award.
Sir Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams, Phil Bennett, Rob Howley, Neil Jenkins, Gethin Jenkins Sam Warburton, Alun Wyn Jones and Leigh Halfpenny are among the previous men to have been given the honour. ‘It’s a bit scary to be thrown in that mix,’ Wainwright said.
Wainwright is set to soon return to domestic action before the November Tests in the United Rugby Championship
‘It’s a bit surreal but hopefully, I’ve got a couple of years left in me yet to keep going. Hopefully, the best is still to come.’ Wales and the Dragons will hope so.
Wainwright injured his hamstring on his 50th Test cap in Australia in July. He is set to soon return to domestic action before the November Tests in the United Rugby Championship.
It will be a chance for him to continue the fine progression he has shown throughout his career since his international bow in Argentina in 2018.
Not that he will ever forget about Whiteheads – the club with whom he always has had, and always will have, an incredibly tight bond.
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Aaron Wainwright is the shining star of Welsh rugby – but he’s more interested in flying under the radar coaching at his boyhood club, writes ALEX BYWATER
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