Zoe Stratford: Rugby World Cup winner for working in a café

Zoe Stratford has taken two weeks to bask in England’s Women’s Rugby World Cup glory.

Then she went back to grinding.

Shortly after lifting the world title in front of nearly 82,000 spectators at Twickenham, England captain and team-mate Natasha Hunt was picking up something else – the keys to a new business venture.

While the Red Roses each receive a World Cup winning bonus of £20,000, and their most lucrative central contracts are worth just under £50,000, all members of the England squad must make plans for life after rugby.

Wing Abe Dao (28 years old) retired after the tournament to continue his career in the field of mechanical engineering. Hooker May Campbell combines her rugby with a job at a cryptocurrency payment company. Amy Cockayne is a police officer in the Royal Air Force.

Lock Stratford and scrum-half Hunt have chosen a different path, opening a café together.

The duo are based near Kingsholm, where they play for PWR Gloucester-Hartpury.

“It was a lot of fun renovating it and putting our thoughts into it,” Stratford said.

“With rugby, we had a lot of strength before the World Cup. After that we were a bit tired, so this gave us a new lease of life.

“Not only did we have rugby, we could put our energy into this café and make it our own.”

Their store is called “MoZo” – an amalgamation of Stratford’s first name and Hunt’s surname “Mo.”

Stratford says the project has given her a valuable distraction from sport, allowing her to switch off from work when she’s away from the field.

“It’s very important to have these other interests,” she added.

“I think the reason why so many girls are successful is because they have interests besides rugby. The café gives us that freedom.”

Both Stratford and Hunt were stuck working shifts at the store, including on the day of the Gloucester men’s match against Castres in early December.

“I’m terrible at the art of coffee,” Stratford said when asked about the skill of creating patterns and images on the top of drinks.

“She’s stuck to plowing. Mo’s pretty good though. Sometimes I mess up the stock and she drags her hair with me, but it’s great.”

“It’s something we wanted to do and hope to grow.”

Three-time defending champions Gloucester-Hartpury have won all seven of their PWR matches this season, while Stratford and Hunt have both been named in England’s 47-man training camp this month.

England begin the defense of their Women’s Six Nations title against Ireland at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham on April 11.