Sonny relishing being back at Thurrock

The influential centre started out with the T’s before joining Southend and then heading abroad.

But Gay is pleased to have seen his career go full circle.

“It’s good to be back at Thurrock again,” said Gay.

“There’s a new coach in here so everyone is wanting to impress and work hard and I’m enjoying being a part of things again.”

Prior to his return, Gay had been playing abroad in Australia.

Gay - who was out of the country for 13 months - lined up for Northern Suburbs during his travels.

And he believes that experience has made him into an even better player.

“Playing in Australia gave me a different look at how to play the game,” said Gay.

“The coaching and the players were class.

“It was the most professional set-up I’ve been involved with and you can only improve when you’ve been involved in something like that.”

However, once his trip came to an end, Gay opted to head back to Thurrock after holding talks with the club while away.

“One of the directors contacted me while I was out in Australia and was chatting to me about it,” said Gay.

“He was saying it was the best option for me to take but I have to be honest and say it was a very tough decision not to go back to Southend.”

Despite that, Gay is now fully focused on Thurrock and helping them to get back to winning ways against Chobham this weekend.

T’s have been beaten twice in their first three games of the London One South season.

But Gay has still been encouraged by the opening matches despite the inconsistent results.

“We haven’t had a terrible start and we have been within a few points on both our loses,” said Gay.

“We are improving every game but we are a new squad so will take time to get things right.

“We’re still hoping for a good season though and hope to push for a top three spot.

“We know we will have to work hard for that to happen, especially as we’ve swapped leagues and have a number of new teams to try and figure out.”