Welsh rugby star Gavin Henson now runs pub

Former fly-half Gavin Henson has swapped muddy pitches for pulling pints in community pub The Fox in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.

The ex-rugby player, who racked up 33 caps for Wales, quit the sport in 2019 due to injury and now has a new passion.

Henson works full-time running The Fox with his wife, after having bought the pub in 2020 and reinstated it at the heart of village life.

“My friend was putting pressure on me to buy it. I was coming to the end of my career and it had been sat here for 18 months to two years,” he told The Times. “It was not nice for the village and I needed something to do after rugby and to be busy, not to mourn rugby and get depressed, as they say everyone does.”

However, the job change wasn’t quite the change of pace he’d imagined, with Henson adding: “Be careful what you wish for, because this is so full-on. We want to feel like we’ve achieved something with the pub. We’re perfectionists. We’re all about the detail.”

Henson bought the freehold for the pub and has given it a complete overhaul, adding a restaurant area, and a space to watch sports on the big screen. Finding staff was not a piece of cake, however, as his purchase of the pub coincided with the hospitality shortage following on from the pandemic. Henson found himself offering £45,000 for a chef to work four days a week.

In a social media post, the rugby-star said: “I NEED A HEAD CHEF!!! Up to 45k, only open 4 days a week, over 6k tips per annum, Pension contribution. CASH REWARD FOR IMMINENT START. The Fox are looking for a creative and talented head chef with a genuine passion for creating memorable dishes.”

Describing The Fox as “a small, family-run business”, Henson has also revealed he plays Sunday League football for his pub’s team.