After winning the Premiership title for a fifth and final time, Jackson Wray hung up his boots as a certifiable Saracens legend last May. Add in a further three Champions Cup winners medals and the 2014 Anglo-Welsh Cup, and Wray has rightfully cemented himself amongst rugby royalty with the North London club.
Wray broke into the Saracens set-up in 2009, when the Londoners were progressing up the Premiership’s ranks in search of their first league triumph. Success soon followed on the back-row’s peripheral, whilst Wray was away on a spell with Bedford Blues in the Championship, as Sarries claimed their first Premiership title in the 2010/11 campaign. Steady progression saw Wray scale the club’s back-row ranks, and he was firmly in the fold the next time Saracens battled their way to the final, some four seasons later.
Wray ran out at Twickenham in each of Saracens’ subsequent league triumphs, as he experienced the jubilation of lifting the Premiership trophy on five separate occasions at ‘HQ’. Wray has poignant memories attached to each one of the final wins, yet re-called how his retirement swan-song last Summer, was the perfect culmination of a career in black, white and red. Speaking exclusively to Ruck, Wray said;
“I think everything that kind of went on in that year, in the preceding years built up to that game. From little bits which went on, which meant that it was meant to be. So we had things like, obviously the relegation, the salary cap, everything that went with that.
“We had coming back up through Covid, then losing in the (2021/22) Final to Leicester. Going again to win, that being the last year. So, having that finishing moment off the back of being in the Championship, and all the pain and everything that came with it, to finish and achieve what I wanted to achieve, which was to finish on the top of the game again, and helping to put Saracens there, off the back of all of that, was really important to me.
“You know, seeing (former Saracens Chairman) Nigel (Wray – no relation to Jackson) with the trophy, again was important to me, after what he’d been through. Seeing him at the end of the game with it in his hands, couldn’t have capped it off any better.”
It had been a turbulent few seasons for Saracens ahead of their sixth league title. As Wray alluded to, the club had been dealt a major blow through their enforced relegation into the Championship following the salary cap breaches. The winners medals certainly shine bright for Wray, yet they gain an extra glimmer as Sarries had to graft their way back to the top. The number eight discussed his many on-field memories, in his final few days as a professional rugby player.
“Then things like the Amazon Prime documentary came out, I was featured in that with with my family. It was a good way of thanking the club and trying to really show what it means. So that was a nice thing to have as a final season. Then coming off (the pitch) when we had a yellow card and we needed to bring a prop on. I got taken off in my last game. Little things really that added up.
“You know, shaking hands with Luke Pearce on the day, he had refereed me a lot. I remember him starting as a referee. I think all of those things really came together, to make it a really special way to finish. The medals are great yes, although, that memory from when it was a bad time in 2020/2021 to that moment (at Twickenham) really was pretty special.”
It took a while for reality to set in, as the 33-year-old hung up his boots with the celebrations in full flow. Once again, the men from the StoneX were out to paint the town red, with the festivities overflowing to the land of the Springboks. Wray and the Sarries boys jetted off to South Africa to celebrate the wedding of their Team Manager, with Wray’s retirement only hitting home once he had returned back to the Northern Hemisphere.
The former Sarries star had picked up a role with business collaboration group 100 & First on his way to rugby retirement. The organisation was founded by Wray’s former Saracens teammate Will Fraser, and works in improving leadership and management within the workplace, for businesses to excel and achieve their goals. A long-serving member of the Saracens leadership group on the field, Wray overlapped his transition to the world of business as his extensive list of Saracens caps entered it’s final few matches.
“I had the wedding, the team manager at Sarries was getting married in South Africa. So we finished the final, and two days later, we’re all on a plane going to South Africa. So it was like, myself, Owen (Farrell), Jamie (George), Elliot (Daly), Maro (Itoje), everyone that I’ve grown up with went across there.
“That first week felt normal, because usually, you do that anyway with them. Then after that, I got back and I was straight into work, straight to the city, taking on a couple of roles with 100 & First being one of them. I just wanted to get straight into it really, I had already started in January, started to transition, so in business, I was almost picking up.
“I wasn’t starting from a standing start, I’d like to give myself a chance to get a rolling start. So really, it was a case of enjoying as much as I could in the finish, and obviously winning helps. But then putting our focus back into pushing on again. So, it was a bit strange, but I enjoyed it, but then had to focus in quite quickly.”
The Head of Business Development for 100 & First, Wray has brought plenty of leadership qualities into the role having experienced the very peak of professional sport. After a formidable on-field partnership as two of the Premiership’s toughest hitters, Wray joined back up with Will Fraser, who was involved in The Saracens Way organisation. Wray discussed his life-long journey with Fraser, with the duo now re-kindling their partnership as they tackled the business sector.
“I’ve played with Will and known him since I was 14, we spent a lot of time together. He got forced to retire because of injury, and he ended up running the Saracens consultancy, which was one type of 100 & First do, but it was specific to rugby. But the ‘Saracens Way’, was about ‘how do we learn from Saracens’ insights to create better teams.’
So as an evolution of that, Will expanded, he added other areas, moved away from rugby, and took the learning of what we were trying to do, and put it in different contexts.
“So from that point, I spend more time with Will, delivered for Will within those sessions. Then when he founded 100 & First, it was a really nice transition, as actually we worked really well together before. I’m interested in that, psychology is my background, and from that point we started talking about how I can help.”
Amidst the impressive list of accolades following 14 years as a Saracen, Wray believes that his most transferable traits were learned from the numerous finals he played in for the North Londoners. In total, during Wray’s time at the Stone X, Saracens reached 15 different competition finals and boast an impressive record of 10 wins.
Five silver medals hang in the Saracens trophy cabinet from Wray’s era, and the former back-rower believes that the most recent final defeat spurred his men on to success in his last year at the club. Wray discussed how such experience in high-stakes matches, has been a valuable asset to his early career in the business world.
“There’s probably two main things. For the finals we lost, there was a few we lost, some of which were against the better team, they were just better. We lost some finals, from not being able to adapt.
“We didn’t adapt well enough against Leicester, we should have pivoted quicker to react to what they were doing and we didn’t, and we just fell into a rhythm of doing the same thing, which they were lapping up and fair play on the day, they played a better game in that sense than we did.
“But what we did the second season, when we came in for pre-season, we said, ‘right, we lost that game, because we didn’t have any other options to go to. We’re going to become a team that can do that, yes, but we’ve got a second option and we’ve got a third option. We’re going to train that and we’re going to breed a new team that can change depending on what’s going on.’
“Then the second thing is probably what I’d like to think, allowed me to play for so long, which is having a focus on my job, don’t get spooked by what’s going on in the bigger picture. There’s times when you do things collectively; scrum, maul, defence, but really, when it comes down to it, (it’s about) doing your job and doing it well. Don’t get dictated by the emotions, or what’s going on in the game, when you have your job to do, you do it well, and you do that every time.
“If you can be consistently doing that, it will help the person next to you, they know exactly what they’re going to get out of you. Having that consistency of delivery, which when you reflect into the business, it’s kind of brilliant. It’s when you come into the workplace, there’s pressure, there’s emotion, and really what it comes down to, is doing what you want you do, do it well, and make sure that’s the case.
With an assortment of caps across the blindside and open-side flanks, as well as at number eight, Wray is an optimisation for versatility across the back of the scrum. 309 caps for the Saracens first XV does not come lightly, and after a career of adjustability, Wray explained the top attributes that made him into a back-row ‘Swiss army knife’.
“Actually, around that, be adaptable. Because sometimes you might have to do something which you don’t particularly want to do. Or it might be a role that you’re not used to.
“Be flexible, but direct when it comes down to it, that for me has an impact on everyone around you, in both of those things, because you’re helping someone who needs your help, or you do everything you can to help them, which helps the team in the business.
“But also, when it’s down to you to perform, you deliver it well and don’t be shy. When we were rugby players, we were getting accessed every day. Don’t worry about asking for help, because you know that there’s someone who knows the answer. So I think they’re the kind of the big things which successful teams in sport and in business have in abundance.”
However in all career changes, there are always learning curves to overcome. Wray’s post-rugby journey has been no different, having been used to the immediacy of a professional training week for the best part of two decades. Wray admitted how he has had to ‘unlearn’ this trope, and that the business world can move at a slower pace, than that of his hectic time as a player.
“There’s probably a couple of things, really two things again, that I’ve had to try and learn now that I’m in it, now, it’s a bit different. Lead times on things you know, things take time. In rugby, you get instant constant gratification around you’ve either won, or you lost. You’ve either won a final or you’ve lost the final, it’s very much more similar, to playing an off-season to then win a final. It’s a lot more like that, than it is the day to day.
“So just pivoting from the kind of success or the lack of it, day to day and week to week. It’ss a lot more month to month, or quarter to quarter, so it’s a lot different. The second thing is the use of communication, emails, (Microsoft) Teams, things getting lost in translation on a screen can be an issue.”
“I’ve seen it already a few times that messages on an email get received differently, to how you would say it. I’m used to doing a training session where I’m running around with people face to face, in meetings face to face, and that’s a challenge as well. Not everyone’s in the same country, let alone the same meeting room. So it is different.”
Aside from their leadership-driven partnerships with businesses, 100 & First also have a charitable arm in the ground-breaking 100 & First Foundation. The driven group work within the rehabilitation of prisoners, and providing valuable lessons for their life after their release. Wray discussed his initial first hand interaction with the group.
“I’ve been into the Mount Prison, which they work in Hemel Hempstead. I went in for day, I spent time with a foundation on the ground. And it was just eye opening really, I was sat in a sort of classroom looking around, thinking the room was the same as any college you would see across the country.”
“Everything felt the same, but you were inside a prison where you’ve gone through eight security gates to get there. I think there’s a stigma attached to prisons, you know, (I was) in a room there with someone who’s getting out in two weeks, someone who is never getting out, someone who’s getting out in six months, it was a blend. I walked out that day thinking, ‘those guys are normal lads’. They’ve made some made bad decisions or in the wrong place at the wrong time, whatever it is, and they’re in there now trying to prepare and better themselves.
“I think the work that the foundation does to help prepare people in there and guys that made mistakes, is fantastic. I think that it’s a big responsibility of not just 100 & First, but corporate businesses anywhere, individuals, to try and open their eyes to actually the reality of the situation. Not everyone in there is a high conviction, there is very much a blend.
“That isn’t fair, isn’t right, and actually it is not good for society. So I think there’s a lot of work to be done in making the rehabilitation process, (to) allow it to happen better.”
The 100 & First foundation helps the former inmates into careers within the business sphere, and Wray discussed an incredible case that he witnessed, from his short time with the difference-making organisation.
“Some of the corporate partners that work with 100 and First on this project, on the prison project, he (former prisoner) came out, he had some work experience, he did some work while he’s in prison to prepare. And now he’s managing an office block in the city, he’s leading that.
“You know, he was in prison a year ago and he’s come out, he’s been prepared. He’s found his purpose. He’s been helped by the Foundation to have a plan, now he’s out there doing it. I was at a dinner with him recently, the 100 & First Foundation dinner at Lords (Cricket Ground), and I sat over with him for a minute, I went over sat next to him, I said, ‘it’s great to meet you. just let me know how have you found it, now you’ve been out’.
“I think the foundation’s support, the corporate partners that are working with us, allow that to become reality, and that should become the norm or not the anomaly. I think there’s a real onus on people to understand and give them a chance to come and change their lives because he has. Now everyone’s looking at him going, ‘Oh, we came out of prison, and he’s doing X Y, Z,’ it’s a snowball effect.
“If we can have 10 of them, it soon becomes 100. We have 100 of them, it soon becomes 1000. Then it’s all the stuff you hear, the pressure of the prison system, and everything else you hear, the costs associated with having people in prison, the rehabilitation and the reoffending rate. All of these things go away, if you make a change in how you perceive them (former prisoners), how you prepare them, and what they come out to.”
Look out for a future article with Jackson Wray and Will Fraser, that deep dives into the 100 & First Foundation’s work within prisons, and how they change the lives of previous inmates.