Tayo Akinbiyi is a current player in Richmond Rugby’s Men’s Open Squads and has taken the unique step of starting rugby at the age of 30. He has trained alongside our Men’s First XV as he continues to develop his game and documents his progress through his ‘Rugby at 30’ social media channels, which have attracted a growing following. We’re delighted that Tayo has chosen Richmond Rugby as the club to continue and grow his rugby journey, and we’re pleased to share this article, originally written by the RFU Community Team.

It is relatively rare that rugby players start playing at the age of 30, but even rarer that they switch from a successful football career to rugby.

However, for Tayo Akinbiyi, he has started his rugby journey as a 30-year-old and is documenting the journey on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Tayo first discovered rugby during school PE lessons, but his state school focused primarily on football and as a result he also concentrated on the sport.

A football background
Despite having what he would describe as ‘a rugby player’s build’, Tayo was a talented footballer and played county level football, as well as for England Schools.

He eventually joined Woking FC, playing in the National League, before being faced with a choice.

“I had to make a decision about whether to continue with football or go off to university,” explained Tayo. I took one year out from university to try and really push for football, and it just didn't happen.

“So, then I made the decision to go off to university, played football, but then got quite close to some of the rugby boys. There was always this temptation to switch over, and I would throw a ball around occasionally in the house with them and go on nights out, but I didn’t get involved.”

Inspired by Brown-Bampoe
After graduating from university, Tayo played semi-professional football for a few more years, but it was his role at his church that eventually pushed him into rugby.

Having mentored a young Paul Brown-Bampoe, who now plies his trade with PREM side Exeter Chiefs, Tayo found himself visiting Chiefs’ Sandy Park stadium to watch the young wing.

It was during this period that he really fell in love with the sport and decided to dive into playing rugby. “I was a little bit hesitant. I maybe thought I was a bit too old to do it,” said Tayo. “Added to this, my mental health wasn’t in a great place and the anxiety and fear of joining a new environment was too overwhelming, such that I avoided it for over a year.

“Therapy helped massively, however, and gave me the tools I needed to not only cope, but also thrive in these uncomfortable situations. So, at 31, I felt the time was right for me personally.

“I took the leap of faith and joined my local club Kingston and the preconceived ideas of what I thought was going to happen and what rugby culture was like were instantly shattered. I couldn't have walked into a more welcoming and enjoyable environment.”

The welcome Tayo received at grassroots level reminded him of his experiences watching Brown-Bampoe play, whereby fans of all different allegiances mingle and welcome newcomers.

Many of his new teammates helped show him the ropes, even doing extra sessions after training and showing him helpful YouTube videos.

Starting the social media journey
He also decided to document his journey starting rugby as an adult and created his Instagram, TikTok and YouTube pages called ‘Rugbyat30’.

Heading up the social media channels is Tayo’s girlfriend who, having been part of his journey, is considering joining a local team for the first time.

The aim is not to get views or followers, but to track his progress and see how far he can go in a completely new sport.

As part of his development, he joined Richmond after receiving a message from one of the senior players at the club encouraging him to attend training, while also offering to support his training.

Tayo joined Richmond, who play in the Champ, English rugby’s second tier, and attended training with the first and second team.

“I'd gone from playing grassroots level rugby to now Champ training,” he said. “I was sitting in rooms with all these Champ players going through game analysis and I was just in awe. “It was such an amazing experience and a room that I never thought that I would be in, but I was sitting there, so grateful but in complete disbelief, just trying to absorb everything I could.

“I ended up training with those guys for three or four sessions before the coach realised ‘hold on, you're not meant to be here’ and walked me over to the open squad.” After joining the fourth team, Tayo found himself progressing into the third team, and his social media accounts have continued to grow.

He now has more than 50,000 followers across social media and millions of combined views on videos.

A positive reception
The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with everyone from friends and family to total strangers being incredibly supportive.

“Whilst I have received some negativity and push back, the majority of comments and messages have been extremely encouraging,” said Tayo.

“It's such an amazing space and I think for a long time maybe it's been restricted to a certain demographic or class of people, but this younger generation within the rugby community seem keen to grow the sport and by default are so inclusive."

“A lot of people often stereotype rugby as a sport played only by privately educated, middle-class people. On some level this may be true, but I would encourage anyone who thinks this to let go of the preconception. From countless conversations and my own personal experience, I can say with confidence that with an open mind and willingness to give it a try, any negative stigmas would soon be removed.”

For Tayo the aim is to reach the top of the game, but he knows that would be quite a feat. If he manages to inspire people to pick up a ball, step outside their comfort zone or realise they aren’t too old to try something new, then that will be more than enough for him.