BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Warrington Wolves prodigy Cai Taylor-Wray grew up idolising Kiwi sensation Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. Now he’s seeking to star in Super League.
Taylor-Wray wasn’t expecting a lot from the 2024 season.
Just 18, he was still in the Academy system and wasn’t included in Warrington’s first-team plans. The fullback didn’t have a professional contract for next year and his profile isn’t in the first-grade set-up on the club’s website, nor is his profile on Super League’s website.
“It’s my last Academy year still,” he admits to rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads.
“So I was looking at getting into that first-team for next year, and obviously by just trying to play well in Academy and reserves.”
But in June Taylor-Wray made his first-team debut against Wigan before the Challenge Cup final and then, when Matt Dufty got hurt in August, the talented youngster continued to impress in the top flight.
Fast and skillful, in just his second Super League appearance against Castleford he scored a stunning solo try, beating a handful of defenders, for his first four-pointer. He was also named Man of the Match.
“It was great, I’m over the moon,” he says.
“It was probably my biggest task yet. There’s stuff to improve on, but I’m over the moon. I was buzzing.
“It’s been a good opportunity for me to get some good minutes to play in the Super League. It’s what you dream of as a kid, and I just want to take every game as it comes.”
Warrington quickly handed him a professional deal earlier this month, tieing him to the club for three more years.
Taylor-Wray’s ascension has been one of the high points of Warrington’s great season. As they head into the playoffs, with a home semi-final date against St Helens set for Saturday, September 28, a crop of promising club products is helping to drive the Wolves forward.
“This year there just been a really good energy around the team. Everyone has got the same goal of winning the comp and the grand final. So it’s just about pushing each other to get there and win every game, and take every game step by step.”
The fullback has shone at youth levels, bagging 17 tries in 17 games for the reserves and Academy, and scored in England Academy games against France.
He is not a local, hailing from Cross Gates in Leeds, but he has been in the Warrington system since he was 14.
“I used to travel to Warrington at 14 to do scholarship, and then I moved over. I moved to Warrington when I was 16 into houses with other scholars, some who weren’t close to Warrington. And I’ve just lived here ever since.”
The outside back modeled his game on ‘RTS’ in his youth. Tuiavasa Sheck broke into the NRL with the Roosters and became one of the best players in the world at the Warriors. With his ability to step and beat defenders, the Englishman has some similar attributes to the Kiwi star.
“I just loved Roger Tuivasa-Sheck,” he explains.
“I just like the way he played, obviously good footwork, strong, powerful, fast, he’s got everything you need.
“Everyone used to look up to Shaun Johnson when I was younger, and I used to be the different one. Roger was my favorite player.”
Taylor-Way comes from a rugby league background with his father Jamaine Wray playing as a forward for Hunslet, York, Keighley and London Skolars from 2003 to 2013.
“One of my goals is just to beat his career. Obviously, he’s done Championship, he went through the Academy thing, but he never got to Super League.”
Wray also made five Test appearances for Jamaica, with his son eligible for the Reggae Warriors. But the outside back is not focused on the international stage at the moment, just on his Warrington duties.
“I just want to play as many minutes as possible this year, just push everyone in the team. I just want to enjoy it, and just enjoy rugby and play when I can whether that’s in the reserves, Academty or in Super League.”
The fullback, who away from rugby league is a massive Arsenal FC fan, is also keen to repay the faith coach Sam Burgess has shown in him.
“Sam’s been there and done that, so you know everything he says is true and you can trust it. I mean, he is a role model, because you know what you get from him and he says like it is always.
“That’s what you need. That’s the best thing and he’s a winner, and that’s what he’s showing this season.
“We’re getting closer and closer and hopefully we do it.”
One of the constant criticisms of Warrington in previous years has been that the club doesn’t do enough to bring through its own players. It always spends on big-name recruits, but not on building its own production line.
But with Taylor-Wray, with the likes of Leon Hayes, Josh Thewlis, Arron Lindop and others, that is no longer the case.
The future is bright at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
