I’m back from NFL to become Eddie’s new hybrid super star
After playing for Atlanta Falcons, Bath signing Alex Gray tells NEALE HARVEY he has returned from the NFL determined to fulfil Eddie Jones’ vision of a new-age player by excelling in the backs as well as the forwards
Alex Gray has never lacked ambition and his latest is a corker. In a nutshell, he wants to lead Bath to long-awaited silverware, force his way into England’s set-up and then be part of a World Cup-winning effort in 2023 as the best ball-playing hybrid rugby player on the planet.
A pipe-dream? Well, they said that when, disillusioned by his failure to make Team GBs 2016 Olympic 7s side, former Newcastle, London Irish and England 7s man Gray packed his bags and declared his intention to forge a new career in American Football. Within months he had signed for the Atlanta Falcons, becoming the first English rugby player to make that remarkable transition.
He captained Atlanta, too, and made 12 NFL appearances in three years before, as the Americans put it, being waived last January. While12 games might not sound much, it’s a pretty significant achievement in the ultra-competitive world of American Football where, unlike homegrown players who are inculcated in the nuances of one of the world’s most complicated sports through the nation’s vast college system, Gray had to learn a whole new ball game from scratch.
He succeeded. And now, after Covid-related visa restrictions meant he was unable to continue in gridiron across the pond, Gray is applying similar determination to resurrecting his rugby career at Bath and fulfilling the rich potential that saw the former Barnard Castle schoolboy captain England’s U16s, 18s and 20s to Grand Slams before some niggling injuries intervened.
“I’m a different athlete and different person now,” Gray, 29, tells The Rugby Paper. “Whoever knew me back in 2016 doesn’t know me now because I’ve been through so much personal growth as an athlete and a person. I’m a completely different competitor and just excited to get the ball rolling at Bath now and see what I can achieve this time.”
So, why Bath? Why now? He explains: “In January I left the Falcons and had some interviews lined up with other teams in February. But in between I came back to the UK and went on holiday, after which the lockdowns started and I stayed in the UK. My visa ran out in March and the USA froze applications, so I was caught in between a rock and hard place where I couldn’t get a visa because I didn’t have a team and no team would sign me because I couldn’t get a visa to go and over and train.
“I was playing a waiting game to see if the restrictions would lighten up, but things just got worse and as I’d seen myself coming back to rugby in the long-term anyway, it just sped that process up. You’ve got to roll with what’s in front of you and while there were a handful of options here, I wanted to go down the route of expressing an interest
in joining a couple of teams myself.
“I had various conversations and the thing I liked about Bath was they’ve got a young coaching team under Stuart Hooper, plus Neal Hatley’s been with England and I knew him from London Irish. They’re a young side, probably the most English team in the Premiership at the moment, and their ability to cater for my transition back into rugby stood out. They’ve got a big number of staff, a great training facility at Farleigh House and it was important for me to get the right support.
“I’ve no doubt that given that support I can be successful at this. I just wanted people who share the same ambitious mindset that I can lean on when I need to and maybe get a bit more reconditioning and advice on how my game looks or video analysis. I need people on the ground to help me with that and Bath was the best option. I’ve trained well so far and while it will be slowly, slowly and there’ll be ups and downs, I’m hoping to put my hand up for selection post-Europe.”
A back rower by trade during his formative years, Gray is training with Bath as a winger who can also play centre, hence his grand designs on forcing his way into England contention, which could be music to the ears of Jones given the player’s imposing 6ft 6ins (1.99cm), 17st 8lbs (113kg) frame that, on the face of it, makes him an ideal contender if the Red Rose boss is serious about hybrids.
Gray is not prepared to hide his England ambitions either. He said: “That’s what I want to do now. My ambition would have been to play for the Lions as well if I’d come back into rugby a little bit sooner. I’m not going to make any secrets about it – I want to win some silverware with Bath and I want to play for England, end of story.
“Looking at my GPS stats so far and some of the personal bests, I’m probably coming top for match speeds here so that places you pretty well as a winger. Bath play with taller, bigger wingers anyway but one thing I did say to them – and this covers my England ambition – is I don’t see anyone else in world rugby at the minute with the pedigree and experience of having played in a couple of different positions in the back row, playing 7s or fulfilling that genuine hybrid role.
“Growing up and coming up through the age groups as a back rower and No.8, I don’t know how many other players you could trust to go up in the lineout in one phase, throw a miss-pass in the next phase and then go around a winger in the third phase and score. What really excites me if I manage to bring this to fruition is if you can be the true hybrid that everyone is talking about, where you can play in the centre, play on the wing and play in the back row or No.8 at the very top level of international rugby, it gives you a shot at being one of the best all-rounders in the world.
“Whether it’s all talk from Eddie Jones we’ll see. But if you are legitimately good enough to do it, then why not? The first thing is to show how valuable I can be to Bath and whether that value can turn over into what England need. England don’t have a lot of size in the backs these days without Manu Tuilagi, so we’ll see. But first things first, I’ve got to learn to play rugby again, help Bath push up the table and take it from there.”
One thing Gray certainly needs to get used to quickly is playing at Bath’s ramshackle Rec, which must seem light years away from Atlanta’s futuristic Mercedes-Benz Stadium that was inaugurated in 2017 and accommodates 73,000 fans in barely conceivable covered luxury.
“We certainly need a roof on the Rec,” jokes Gray. “I went to the first match at Atlanta’s new stadium and, honestly, it’s like a spaceship. But that’s what it is in America and for me to have been part of that top echelon of sport there, where no expense is spared on facilities, was really amazing. There’s a lot sport here could learn, maybe not on that scale but in different ways.
“The whole NFL experience was huge for me as an athlete, competitor and human being. I’ve worked very hard on my physical and mental state and, having returned to rugby, I’m just using every day now to try and maximise my potential. America was a surreal, life-changing experience and I worked very hard to get in the door.
“I’m proud of being the first British player to transition into NFL from rugby, but I’ve reset my ambitions now and the big goal is to play for England.”
“My ambition would have been to play for the Lions if I’d come back into rugby a bit sooner”