Was soft on a rugby player! (4)
I believe the answer is:
wasp
'a rugby player' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'was soft on' is the wordplay.
'soft' becomes 'p' (musical abbreviation for 'piano').
'on' says to put letters next to each other.
'was'+'p'='WASP'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for wasp that I've seen before include "Insect; thin (waist)" , "Striped stinger" , "Insect with a formidable sting" , "Influential American" , "Insect with a sting in its tail" .)