#4. Finn Russell (Scotland) – Stonemason
After secondary school, the Scotland star pursued an apprenticeship for three years as a stonemason, in a business owned by a family friend, whilst his rugby developed. Pocketing £300 per week, supplemented by £50 in his hand from Falkirk Rugby Club, Russell is now one of the pre-eminent stand-offs in world rugby and certainly one of the most exciting.
#5. Liam Williams (Wales) – Scaffolder
This is the picture that illustrates the heights Williams has scaled to reach international rugby, starting off as a scaffolder. It wasn’t work for the faint-hearted, with Williams rigging scaffolding “over the top of a blast furnace, 300 feet from the ground” back in Wales.
