I was an England Rugby World Cup winner – now I’m a full-time farmer with 600 sheep… everyone thinks I’m a millionaire
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A FORMER England Rugby World Cup winner revealed he now lives a totally unrecognisable life as a full-time farmer. Julian White MBE, 51, once dominated sports fields with spectacular wins but now gives his time to his 600 sheep and 90 cows. White reached sporting highs when he won the 2003 Rugby World Cup with his England team.
![[Julian White, former England rugby player, now a farmer, standing in a barn with sheep.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/julian-white-ex-england-rugby-964783180.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The icon was also known for his roles scrummaging in the front row for Leicester Tigers. 21 years after his huge win White revealed that he left it behind to tend to his magnificent Crabtree Farm, in Leicestershire. The former star revealed he started his beloved farm in 2006, towards the end of his time playing rugby in Leicester, he told The Telegraph.
![[Julian White, former England rugby player and current farmer.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/bf913c49-797c-488e-819e-141698dffe4b_ae0d49.jpg?strip=all&w=634)
He runs his Midlands plot with his wife Sara and their three kids. He said: "It was fantastic at Leicester but I started thinking about life after rugby. "I rented a field, had a few sheep. And if you just have one thing to focus on – just rugby – it’s not healthy.".
![[Julian White, England rugby player, in team polo shirt.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/julian-white-selected-prop-england-964783379.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
White shared how people assume he is able to splash millions of pounds in cash, but he revealed this is far from the truth. The former athlete revealed how some other farmers have misunderstood how his sporting past has affected his current life. White said: "A lot of them are quite cagey.
![[Julian White, former England rugby player and current farmer, in a field with cattle.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/cde7c082-3e03-4cc6-b291-1c71421450f3.jpg?strip=all&w=618)
"And, because I was a rugby player, they have this bizarre idea that I’m some sort of multi-millionaire, but I’m nowhere near that.". The rugby pro revealed he loved his farm but shared that life was not all rosy in his new career. Money, extreme weather, and experience were all hurdles to creating and running his beloved farm.
![[Julian White, England rugby player, during a match.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/32c16a26-6c08-4fa8-b68b-06d433b4eedd_6b85a2.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
