A teacher and Saracens centre - How Sydney Gregson is Powered Differently

Sydney Gregson is inspiring the next generation on the pitch and in the classroom.

When she is not scoring tries for Saracens in Premiership Women’s Rugby, Gregson is busy as a teacher at nearby Heath Mount School.

It is a role that is still new to the centre, who is currently completing her teacher training after deciding to take a route into education a few years ago.

It came after Gregson ruptured her ACL, an injury that saw her miss the entirety of the 2021-22 season, with the Sarries player determined to forge a future career for beyond her playing days.

Now, the 28-year-old is embracing balancing another tilt at the PWR title alongside her new role in the classroom.

“When I did my ACL, I had a sort of quarter life crisis and decided and I needed a career and one that would support me post-rugby,” she said.

“When you have a big injury like that, it makes you realise rugby is not forever, you do need something post-rugby.

“Sonia Green was at Sarries at the time, she has just retired and is vice-principal at Saracens High School. She got me a job there as a learning support assistant, I worked there for a year and decided I quite liked working with kids and the teaching aspect.

“I found this job at Heath Mount, it was actually a sports one at first. I came in a graduate role and then halfway through they said they could put me through my teacher training.

“It is mainly classroom-based but you still get to do the sport side which obviously I love. You get the best of both worlds, you get to be in the classroom a lot and then get to go out on the sports fields and coach. I really enjoy that.”

Gregson’s dual-career story is one of nine being told this week as part of a new ‘Powered Differently’ campaign by Premiership Women's Rugby, focusing on just a few superhuman players across the league.

Alongside Gregson, the campaign features players like nurse Carys Cox at Trailfinders Women, tattoo artist Amber Schonert at Sale Sharks and marine conservation student Freya Aucken at Harlequins.

For Gregson, her two roles mean 5am starts and getting back home late after training in the evenings but the centre revealed she enjoys the challenge of maximising both sides of her life.

“I am just a very competitive person, and I quite like the grind in a weird way,” she added.

“It feels so good when I have got up super early, got my gym done and I am at work and already done so much. It is making me better and I want to be the best player I can.

“If I don’t do it early, I am not going to get it in. I have learned that I can do it if I am as organised as I can be.

“On a Sunday I make my breakfast for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and lay it all out. I do the same with my clothes otherwise you just don’t have time. It makes it a little easier.”

While it might be difficult to find the time to fit everything in, Gregson believes both of her roles have helped her in the other.

“From rugby, I have learned a lot of things that help me in life and in work,” she added.

“Being able to work with lots of different people, there are lots of different personalities, you learn that being part of a sports team, you are constantly building relationships with lots of different people.

“Working in a school, there are lots of different children with different personalities as well as the staff. Learning how to get the best out of people and build those relationships is a big one.

“To be a good teacher you need to be extremely patient, you need to be nurturing and be kind.

“Especially in primary school, you get a lot of questions. They are so young so you need to be very nurturing towards them and teach them in class but also be there to support in other aspects.”