The powerful wing, who has just signed for Cross Keys in the Principality Premiership, has gone from a life of crime and custodial sentences to helping the land of his father, Jamaica to qualify for the Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cup Sevens earlier this year.
Cunliffe, who grew up in the Duffryn and Pill areas of Newport, became caught up in a spiral of lawbreaking during his early teens but thanks to his own athletic ability and understanding police officers, Wesley found rugby and credits the sport and the support he’s received from a string of individuals in Gwent rugby clubs for his dramatic change in fortune.
And, in a twist of fate reminiscent of the iconic 1990s film Cool Runnings, after being spotted playing rugby sevens for Newport at the Foster’s 7s in Cardiff and for Samurai Sevens in the summer of 2016, Wesley was invited to play for Jamaica Sevens in their bid to qualify for Gold Coast and San Francisco 2018.
There were some sacrifices along the way but Cunliffe, who works night shifts as a forklift driver in Bristol, played in a number of qualifying tournaments for the Caribbean nation including the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens in Mexico where his team scored a try in the dying moments of the final game against Guyana to qualify, not only for April’s Commonwealth Games but the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco and the Hong Kong Sevens.
Wes now wants to use his experience to inspire others who may be in the predicament he found himself in before finding rugby. Today he helped Ebbw Vale head coach and WRU entreprise manager Greg Woods run a coaching session at a School of Hard Knocks programme in Pill, Newport. He also talked to the participants of the programme about the lessons he’s learned and how rugby helped him break the difficult cycle of crime and unemployment.
“I’ve seen the devastation crime can cause and it’s not a nice place” said Cunliffe. “Sport, and rugby in particular, turned my life around and my experience has made me so passionate about getting the message across to others about its positive effect.”
Cunliffe is keen to emphasise the positive stance taken towards him and others in his situation by community police officers.
As a 15 year old, Cunliffe was often in trouble with the police but rather than deal with him harshly, local police officers tried to show the youngsters that there were other opportunities available to them.
“I’m really grateful to the police officers in Duffryn at the time,” picks up Wesley. “They understood our background and what we were going through and tried to show us there was more to life than the way we were heading, which was basically a young offenders institution.
“One officer, Darren Morgan, introduced me to St Joseph’s rugby club. Mike Dawkins was my first coach there and I’m so grateful to those individuals along with many others such as Paul Evans at Newport Saracens, Mike Sage and others at Newport Youth, Chris Day who is now a Newbridge coach; Jason Strange, Neil Edwards, Jonathan Jones and the supporters at Ebbw Vale; Craig Warlow and Mark Workman at Newport and now I’m looking forward to putting on the Cross Keys shirt next season. I hated sport before joining St Joe’s but I haven’t looked back since and to be part of the Jamaica squad has taken my journey to another level, it’s incredible really.
“I wasn’t able to travel to Australia due to the restrictions on my passport from my former life – another lesson I want to pass on about the consequences of your actions – but I’m hoping they’ll be lifted in order to stake a claim to be part of the Olympics in 2020. Representing my country around the world during the qualifying stages was just something else for someone with my background and I want to show others they can pursue dreams through sport too. Even if I don’t make it onto the plane, for me I’ve been so motivated through my experience over the last year or that I want to try to inspire others.”
A number of obstacles made growing up difficult for Wesley but ultimately he is grateful for all those who helped him get back on track.
“I lost my father when I was young and it was tough for my mother bringing up three boys on her own. She worked all hours as a carer and I missed quite a bit of school to help look after my younger brothers. My grandfather, Owen was my father figure and has always supported me through thick and thin. However, rugby has really made me feel I belong to something which is the opposite to being part of a gang where all the gang leaders care about is the money you’re going to make them.
“Former Dragons captain Lewis Evans got me to speak to some groups of young people about the dangers and consequences of joy-riding and it’s a lesson I can’t stress enough. I lost some friends who were involved in that side of my life and I have no doubt that the fact I have turned myself around is down to rugby.
“People complain about the contact side of rugby sometimes but I would take that any day over prison and that was the choice I had to make. I’ve enjoyed helping Neil Edwards and the participants on the School of Hard Knocks programme – rugby can make such a difference in so many ways. If you’re trying to turn your life around and you’re part of a rugby team, it shows others including potential employers that you are reliable, you can work with others and that you work hard to achieve goals.”
Wes saves his biggest tribute to his partner Rhiannon.
“Rhiannon is by biggest hero, she taught me to drive and helped me get into work. We’ve had to make lots of sacrifices, our six year old son Isiaah was born very premature, has cerebral palsy and speech and language difficulties so she’s the rock keeping all his appointments along with looking after the two other children when I’m away with rugby and work.”
School of Hard Knocks is a charity that uses rugby to tackle unemployment, crime and poor health. They help people take responsibility and take positive steps forward in their lives.
“Wesley is another incredible story of someone who has turned their life around through rugby,” said Ken Cowen, CEO. “He is an inspiration to our staff and participants. We are delighted that Neil Edwards, who played a part in Wesley’s story, is now part of our full-time team, changing lives through rugby every day in Wales and across the UK.”
