HAVING swapped his place on the rugby field for a seat in front for a sewing machine, Nathan Palmer seemed to have made one of the least likely career moves possible.

Now, more than six years after injuries saw him step away from a sport that had taken him all over the world as a member of the Welsh sevens squad, professional fashion designer Nathan is back playing rugby at Penarth RFC and has brought his sense of sartorial style with him.

Now, not only have the club benefitted from having former Newport RFC player Nathan dashing down the wing, but he has also created made-to-measure matching dress shirts for the whole team to wear after games, making them possibly the best dress team in rugby.

Thirty two-year old Nathan, who was also a teenage athletics star once tipped to succeed Colin Jackson as Britain's leading sprint hurdler, explained how he went from scrums to sewing.

"I've always been interested in the sewing machine," said Nathan. "I don't know how it started but it was just this thing that happened.

"Rugby was always at the forefront for me but I would dabble. When I got injured I took a couple of years out and got my degree."

Father-of-two Nathan - recently named the fifth most stylish person in Wales by an online news site - said that when his team mates at Penarth heard about his fashion skills they were eager to make use of his services.

"We don't really have anything to wear after the matches," he said, "And I've always got a loud shirt on. They couldn't really understand it, they couldn't put the two things together but one day they were saying to me 'Can you make some shirts for us?'"

Showing some samples to the team captain, a red, black and white design was settled on and created, each emblazoned with the club logo and player's initials.

After now, after each game, the team don their custom shirts in the clubhouse with pride.

Nathan said: "The boys love them. We look so much better compared to the other teams, we look worlds apart. Not many teams have caught on yet, but I'm sure they will."

And as far as his ranking as Wales' fifth most stylish person - beaten by only one other male on the list - Nathan said: "I was really disappointed. I'll have to step up my game next year."

You can find out more about Nathan's fashion designing at www.nathanpalmer.co.uk