The horrific story of the Fraser brothers, halted by injury, yet who leave their name on the game for the right reasons
The Saracens flanker has been forced to retire at the age of 27 due to a neck injury, eight years after his younger brother Henry was left paralysed from the shoulders down
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That Will Fraser has retired at the age of 27 without an England cap to his name is nothing short of a travesty, but after 10 operations and a series of glorious highs and traumatic lows, he will forever be remembered as one of Saracens’ own “Class of 92”.
It’s a phrase coined from the famous Manchester United academy products that Saracens chairman Nigel Wray applies to his current crop of first-team stars that developed at the heart of the club since 2008, featuring the likes of Owen Farrell, Jamie George, George Kruis, Jackson Wray and Fraser. Sadly, for Fraser, that story ended on Thursday, at least in a playing capacity. A slipped disc in his neck suffered at the end of last season led to a “significant bleed on the spine”, and with that, his rugby career was over.
It’s a tragic end for a player who has been through more than most professional athletes worldwide. Fraser has had to cope with a string of injuries over the last three years, which limited the back-row to just 83 appearances since making his Saracens debut in 2010.
There were highs, and they were enormous. The Watford-born forward was part of three Premiership title successes, not to mention the incredible double season of 2015/16 in which the iconic image of him holding both the Premiership trophy and European Cup in each hand remains firm in the memory.
But there have been desperate lows, and not just his torrid run with injuries. Eight years ago, his younger brother, Henry, suffered a compressed spinal cord in a freak accident while on holiday in Portugal. Like his older sibling, Henry was a blossoming rugby player for Watford-based side Fullerians and had followed Will into the Saracens academy, but after striking his head on a sandbank when diving into the sea, Henry would be paralysed from the shoulders down.
The inspirational young man cheated death numerous times – seven to be precise – but it was a traumatic time for the entire Fraser family. That Will was able to continue his pursuit of a professional career, help look after his brother and support his family at a desperate time is the true testament to his character, and it’s not surprise that this translated to his attitude on the pitch.
His Saracens teammates are more than aware of this, and as the curtain gets ready to lift on the new Premiership season, England and British and Irish Lions international Jamie George is facing up to going into the trenches without Fraser by his side, something he admits he is not quite ready for.
“I’ve obviously known for a couple of weeks,” George tells The Independent. “He wanted to tell the lads before it was announced and it’s horrific news if I’m honest. It took me a long time to get over, I’m still trying to get over it now if I’m honest, but the fact that I’ll never play another game with him is pretty heart-breaking.
“He was so vital in us winning that double , what he went through that year in terms of his injuries was horrific.
"100 per cent, Will’s an incredibly resilient person and you’d watch him on a Monday, you’d see him limp across the field – I can actually picture it now – and you think ‘there’s no way that this guy will be able to play a game on Saturday’ – and there he was, he’d get himself right, he’d make sure he’s ok and as ok as he could be and there’d he be on Saturday giving everything. That’s a sign of the player he was.”
Fraser will continue to work with Saracens, the club he has been associated with since the age of 13, as he fronts The Saracens Way project that aims to give fans an insight into the culture and success of the club during the years that he’s been a part of it.
In his eyes, it’s the least he could do.
“Saracens have been incredible throughout my career,” he said. “With every setback and with every injury the medical staff and the strength and conditioning staff have worked tirelessly to get me back together again and get me out on the pitch. The coaches have been unbelievably supportive and their loyalty to me has been nothing short of incredible.
“They stood by me when the majority of other club’s and coaches would have let me go - they’ve been unbelievable from my point of view, but the club has been so much more for my family. The way they rallied round us a family when Henry had his diving accident in 2009 was amazing. When all that happened, the club were phenomenal with us as a family in what was an incredibly difficult time. They were there not just for me, but for all us, and for that I’ll always be indebted to them.”
There are achievements that Fraser missed out on, that elusive England cap being the most obvious, as well as joining the fabled Saracens 100 Club, but his achievements greatly outweigh those as his close friend George stresses. He boasts a glittering career cut short, but while he retires in the opinion that he owes the club, hopefully one day Fraser will realise the family name is ingrained on the club for more than one reason.
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