The Day Job – How Nick Royle’s stellar rugby career turned to Waste !

There are any number of creaking retired rugby players who are only too pleased to recount how they played the game into their 40’s and 50’s and sometimes even beyond. Generally, their outings were for Old Warstorians 4^th xv. 41-year-old Nick Royle is just a little different.

Flying Nick Royle belies his age
Image – Kieran Free

The Ravers’ prolific winger is still holding down a wing berth for Caldy in the Championship with sufficient pace and skill to trouble all comers. The longevity of his 24-year rugby career, which started as a 17-year-old at his father Dave Royle’s then club Birchfield RFC, is only surpassed by his extraordinary exploits and records which began almost immediately. With his brothers, being part of the first ‘father and sons’ quartet ever to play together in the same Birchfield 1^st xv probably wasn’t what attracted the attention of the Super League scouts for Warrington and Widnes. His blistering pace was responsible for that.

A couple of seasons with Widnes Vikings and then Warrington Wolves were followed by a move into Premiership / National league action with Sale Sharks and its loanee club Fylde RFC before the entirely logical move and a three-year stint with the England 7s team. A best one hundred metre time of 10.6 seconds placed Nick as one of the very quickest players in World rugby. His speed and finishing ability notched up thirty-five tries for England in the European leg of the 2012 World Sevens marking him out as the top try scorer for the series.

The perception Caldy supporters had of Nick Royle prior to his arrival at Paton Field, was of a somewhat aloof rugby star. Nothing could be further from the truth. This popular but quiet and unassuming family man was quickly embraced by all at Caldy, and even more so when his eclectic range of other pursuits unfolded. Never before or since has any other Caldy player (or any other rugby player other than perhaps the great Gareth Edwards) spent coach journeys on a match day morning expertly tying fishing flies.

For the last 10 years Nick has been setting records with Caldy, including breaking the all-time try record for the National Leagues with over three hundred tries to his name and continuing his form into the Championship. At the venerable age of 39 Nick scored this absolute ‘Worldy’ of a try in Caldy’s match against Richmond RFC.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1572189847590424578

In 2019, after 7 years working as a Community Rugby Coach for the RFU where his former boss Andrew Soutar described him as a quiet lad who always delivered, this modest and grounded rugby superstar applied for a position with United Utilities.

Nick Royle at the United Utilities Wastewater Treatment Plant
Image – Nick Royle, United Utilities

Nick now works as a Process Controller at the United Utilities wastewater treatment plant in Huyton. The day job is all about managing the remediation of wastewater so that it meets the Environment Agency’s exacting standards before it is released back into the river system. As an expert and passionate fly fisherman Nick knows better than most just how important this work is for the health of the UK environment.

He considers joining United utilities to be one of his absolute best decisions. “United Utilities are a brilliant company to work for. They put me through all the necessary training courses, and I work with an amazing group of lads in the United Utilities team. It is a real pleasure to come to work. There is the same great team spirit as there is at Caldy RFC.”

As he moves into his mid 40’s Nick Royle’s foot speed on the pitch may be slightly diminished but the speedster has compensated by picking up the pace on two wheels. His KTM 1290 motor bike accelerates to 60mph in just 2.75 seconds…. just marginally quicker than Royle’s best on the pitch !

Nick Royle on his KTM 1290
Image – Nick Royle