Kyle Tayler-Woolston to enter 2026-27 Super Rygbi Cymru season under married name after summer blessing

Kyle Tayler-Woolston, Newport's open-side flanker, married his husband George in a summer blessing at St Basil's Church in Bassaleg and will play the 2026-27 Super Rygbi Cymru season under his married name. The Black and Ambers marked the occasion — described as the first same-sex blessing at the church — with a club post on social media.

Tayler-Woolston has been openly out to his team-mates since 2018 and said the response at Newport has been uniformly positive. "Everyone has been really supportive," he said, adding: "I'd love to give people confidence that there are happy stories out there." The back-rower stressed he hoped his experience at semi-professional level might reassure other players that they can be themselves.

He grew up watching Newport with his father, Andrew, and remembers a pre-regional side that included Gary Tiechmann and Percy Montgomery. After captaining Cardiff Met and Wales Students, and spells with Newbridge, Tayler-Woolston first pulled on a black-and-amber jersey on permit against Cardiff in October 2015; a permanent move followed, though he initially struggled to perform.

Tayler-Woolston came out to his family in his late teens and said of his parents: "I couldn't have asked for a better reaction from my parents, they weren't bothered at all." Within rugby settings he described living a double life: "I was sort of living a double life, and then you are lying to yourself." He added: "My biggest worry was that I would be judged based on my sexuality rather than my rugby skill." The flanker said the secrecy became "mentally draining" and prevented simple public displays of affection: "I wanted to go to dinner with my partner, I wanted to hold their hand without constantly looking over my shoulder."

Concerned about how staff and team-mates would react, Tayler-Woolston told head coach Ty Morris in a one-to-one meeting after sending a message asking to meet. He recalled Morris' response: "oh my god, I thought you were going to tell me you were signing for someone else" and described the coach as "amazing" and a reason for his longevity at the club. He said Morris has always assessed him on rugby form: "If my performance is rubbish then drop me, and he does. That's down to how I have played and nothing else." The player said the news then spread naturally through the squad without problems and surprised his assumption about older players: "In my head, and I don't know where I got it from, I thought the older generation in rugby would be homophobic, but they weren't."

The 2018-19 season coincided with a personal breakthrough for Tayler-Woolston even as Newport finished seventh in a 16-team Premiership. He won the club's player-of-the-season awards from team-mates, coaches and supporters that year. He credited his future husband for part of that improvement: "That was the first full year that George was coming to games and I was openly talking about my sexuality," he said. "A weight was off my shoulders, I could be myself and it was reflected in the performances. I wasn't worried about small things." He added that George had given him the confidence to show affection without concern: "Before it was really uncomfortable when I came off the pitch – do I hug him? Do I kiss him? He gave me the confidence to not care what people might think."

Tayler-Woolston started in Newport's 2025 Super Rygbi Cymru grand final win at Ebbw Vale and also featured in last season's SRC Cup final victory against Llandovery. He has made 176 appearances for the club and captained Wales Students against England in 2013. On his remaining goals he said: "It'd be a dream to reach 200 if my body can hold out," and added: "I've managed to achieve everything a semi-pro player can – we've won the cup, the league and we've got the SRC Shield at the moment – all while being open about who I am."

He will begin the 2026-27 SRC campaign under his married name with Newport and remains publicly committed to the idea that rugby can be an accepting environment. "I do feel rugby has progressed massively and I am able to live my normal life, and that's how it should be, but we have to keep breaking down barriers," he said. "People shouldn't need to have personal battles, they should be able to go into any rugby club and be themselves. Love is love."