Starts to acquire cheap tops off rugby player (5)
I believe the answer is:
actor
'player' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'starts to acquire cheap tops off rugby' is the wordplay.
'starts to' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letters of 'acquire cheap tops off rugby' is 'ACTOR'.
(Other definitions for actor that I've seen before include "Person performing on stage or screen" , "I pretend" , "ham" , "One taking part" , "Dramatic artist" .)