Winning the rugby league quadruple and being named in the BBC’s sports personality team of the year would be enough for most, but not Wigan Warriors prop Tyler Dupree.
In 2024, he also graduated with a degree in applied sports performance whilst lifting all four domestic trophies with his side.
The 24-year-old chose to study his degree full-time whilst playing full-time, attending Wakefield College twice a week and studying at home on the other evenings – a gruelling schedule which, he admits, almost forced him to quit.
“I’d finish training at 3 or 4 o’clock and then I’d go home to do work until 6 or 7 o’clock, and I was that tired that I’d be going to bed after I’d studied,” he said.
“It got to the first year of the degree and I thought I can’t do this, it’s too much. I was just trying to get through it and it got to a point where I thought I’d rather just do it a later stage.”
Having pushed through to complete his degree, Dupree is now mapping out his future – back in the classroom.
“I want to be a primary school teacher, so I thought I’ll get my degree and then do my PGCE (post graduate certificate in education) on the back of that, so when I retire, I can do primary school teaching,” said the former Salford Red Devils player, who has three years left on his current deal at Wigan.
“That could be it, I might have nothing else after this, so I’ve got something to fall back on now.”
But his humble outlook comes after hardship earlier in his career.
After being dropped from Leeds Rhinos in 2020, Dupree suddenly went from playing full-time to having nothing on his plate.
He said: “I know what it’s like to go down to the bottom and not be full-time, and a lot of people at Wigan have played full-time their whole career, so I think I’ve got a little bit more appreciation of being full-time.
“I feel what I pride myself on is to perform well and to try my best but know it’s not the be all and end all.”
Dupree isn’t stopping there, though, as he now fancies his chances of learning a trade.
“I don’t like wasting my time as we don’t know how much time we’ve got,” he said. “I want to do a joinery course so I’m starting the process of trying to find one.
“I feel having something away from rugby relaxes me because if I know I’ve had a bad game or had a good game, I’m not thinking about that when I’m doing my work.”
Making history is now becoming a habit for Dupree and his team mates as they travel to Las Vegas to play Warrington Wolves at the Allegiant Stadium on March 1, with both sides becoming the first to play in a USA-hosted Super League fixture.
But for Dupree, the trip to the neon city resonates deeply.
He has Afro-American blood as his grandfather was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
“Being proud of our Afro-American heritage has always been driven through our family and I’ve always said I’m a proud Englishman but I’m also proud of my American heritage,” he said.
“A lot of what I do is for my family anyway so I’m proud to be making my mum and my sister happy.”
Feature image courtesy of Callum Pilkington/Wigan Warriors
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