Former Yorkshire rugby league star now tackling criminals in Bradford in new career

Former rugby league star Nick Scruton has gone from a prop to a cop since hanging up his boots. Ex-Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield front-row Nick now works on the beat as a policeman.

However the change only came after he realised that beekeeping might leave him stung for cash. Hard-hitting Scruton won the Grand Final and World Club Challenge throughout his career with hometown Rhinos in 2008.

Sadly his career was cut short by a serious shoulder injury while playing for Hull KR back in 2019. At the time he was only 34 and had not planned to hang up his boots just yet reports The Mirror.

But now Scruton has revealed that life tackling criminals in some of the roughest parts of Bradford has helped the transition from playing to not playing. He said: “I’ve got to play to my strengths so if anybody big and nasty needs locking up they send me in.

"And I do like that. I still get an adrenaline buzz which is one of the reasons I wanted to join the police. I’ll never be able to replace that feeling of charging in from a kick-off and knowing you’re going to get bashed.

“But when you’re about to smash a door in and don’t know what’s on the other side, you get an adrenaline kick from that. Or a job comes in, there’s a bloke with a knife and nobody else to go so you’re in. I’m a PC response officer in Bradford West and we do have one of the highest crime rates in West Yorkshire so it keeps us busy. But I’m loving it. I’ve embraced the carnage.”

It’s far different from Scruton’s initial career plan post-rugby. He explained: “When I was still playing, I tagged along with my wife Alice’s uncle who's a commercial beekeeper. I really enjoyed it and could see myself dropping into that. I’d a five-year plan where I’d have a decent business