Gay rugby player feared coming out – now he wants to share his ‘happy story’

Gay rugby player Kyle Tayler-Woolston has shared his uplifting story about how his fear of coming out to his team was met with overwhelming support. He’s sharing his story to remind people there are “happy stories out there”.

The rugby player married his husband, George Woolston, this summer. Tayler came out to his team in 2018 and will enter the 2026-27 Super Rygbi Cymru (SRC) season with his Newport team.

“Everyone has been really supportive,” said Tayler-Woolston about his journey as a gay athlete, the BBC reported. 

“I’d love to give people confidence that there are happy stories out there.”

Across men’s sport, out LGBTQ+ players are often few and far between. In Welsh rugby, Gareth Thomas and referee Nigel Owens are out voices in the sport.

In June, former National Rugby League (NRL) player Kane Evans publicly came out as gay. He is the first men’s professional rugby league player to do so since Ian Roberts more than three decades ago in 1995.

‘My biggest worry was that I would be judged based on my sexuality rather than my rugby skill’

However, Tayler-Woolston hopes his position at a semi-professional level will give others confidence to live their truth.

“There are a lot of young players in our squad and when I was in their situation, I didn’t have a role model to look up to,” he shared.

“My biggest worry was that I would be judged based on my sexuality rather than my rugby skill.

“It was mentally draining and I was constantly on guard. I wanted to go to dinner with my partner, I wanted to hold their hand without constantly looking over my shoulder.”

Tayler-Woolston was seriously concerned that he would be rejection and potentially not picked for the team going forward. 

He added: ”All those ideas were building in my head because you read horror stories online.

“I felt that I was lying to my team-mates because I couldn’t be my true, authentic self around them.

“It is tiring being on guard all of the time, wondering what people would think, whether I would be isolated and rejected.”

Tayler-Woolston came out to a few people at the club before telling his head coach Ty Morris.

“I just came out and said it and he just said ‘oh my god, I thought you were going to tell me you were signing for someone else’,” he said.

‘I have never faced homophobia in the rugby setting.’

He continued: “I wanted to be assessed on my rugby, and Ty has always done that. If my performance is rubbish then drop me, and he does. That’s down to how I have played and nothing else.”

Tayler-Woolston also shared that his husband helped him grow comfortable and confident with expressing his love. He shares: “He gave me the confidence to not care what people might think.”

“I have never faced homophobia in the rugby setting. Maybe that’s just because I’ve been lucky or it’s the standard that I am playing at,” he said.

Though his journey has been positive, he knows that’s not the case for everyone.

“I love publicising the fact that you can be open in rugby, but it’s someone’s own decision,” Tayler-Woolston expressed.

“I do feel rugby has progressed massively and I am able to live my normal life, and that’s how it should be, but we have to keep breaking down barriers.

“People shouldn’t need to have personal battles, they should be able to go into any rugby club and be themselves. Love is love.”

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