World Cup Winner Opens Coffee Shop After £20K Bonus

Two weeks after lifting the Women's Rugby World Cup trophy at Twickenham, England captain Zoe Stratford was back to work serving lattes and learning the cash register.

Stratford and teammate Natasha Hunt used their £20,000 World Cup bonuses to open a coffee shop called MoZo near Gloucester's Kingsholm stadium. The venture reflects a reality for women's rugby players: even world champions need to plan for life beyond the pitch.

England's top players earn just under £50,000 a year on central contracts. That means the entire World Cup winning squad maintains side jobs and businesses alongside their athletic careers.

Wing Abby Dow retired at 28 to pursue mechanical engineering. Hooker May Campbell works at a crypto payment company. Amy Cokayne serves as a police officer in the Royal Air Force.

For Stratford and Hunt, the coffee shop offered something unexpected after their intense World Cup campaign. "Afterwards we were a bit exhausted with it, so this gave us a new lease of life," Stratford said.

The shop's name combines Stratford's first name Zoe with Hunt's nickname Mo. Both players work shifts behind the counter, though Stratford admits she's "terrible at coffee art" and sticks to managing the till while Hunt handles the fancy foam designs.

Why This Inspires

Stratford believes having interests outside rugby actually makes the players better athletes. "I think the reason so many of the girls are successful is because they have interests besides rugby," she explained.

The coffee shop gives them a mental break from the constant intensity of elite sport. When Stratford leaves practice, she can channel her energy into something completely different and switch off from competition mode.

Both players remain fully committed to their sport. Stratford and Hunt were named to England's 47-strong training camp this month, and their club Gloucester-Hartpury sits undefeated with seven straight wins this season.

The defending champions will begin their Women's Six Nations title defense against Ireland at Twickenham on April 11. Until then, you might find the England captain perfecting her register skills and dreaming of expanding MoZo into something bigger.