Having had his World Cup dreams dashed, Spain international Josh Peters is hoping that another of his rugby goals can be fulfilled following his move to Newcastle Falcons.
Since leaving Northampton Saints' academy in 2018, the former Oundle School pupil has gone on a roundabout venture to the top, playing nine Tests for Spain in and around spells at Blackheath, Dijon and latterly Doncaster.
At Doncaster, Peters proved a capable deputy for club legend Matt Challinor in the Knights' second row and his performances in the 2021/22 Championship season earned him a second chance amongst English rugby's elite with the Falcons.
His story is similar to Knights team-mate Sam Graham's in that both had short-lived and unhappy experiences of the Premiership early on in their careers before going on to rediscover themselves, and be rediscovered.
“It was very much the same for me, I was at Saints for four years and I was basically injured the whole time I was there and I stopped enjoying my rugby. I went down to National 1 for a bit of fun and started enjoying it again,” said the 26-yearold, who spent his formative years on the Costa Del Sol.
“Spain had been pestering me the whole time I was at Northampton but I couldn't really go because of my injuries, but then I got an opportunity to go and play for them and I enjoyed that and played some good rugby.
“Then Covid hit and France was the only place where they were still playing rugby and it went from there really.”
Peters was a jobbing rugby player throughout this nomadic period, working in personal training, working in a school and doing some labouring for a mate … anything to keep him busy and happy and to keep the money rolling in. “Blackheath and Spain was really the turning point for me,” he said. “At Blackheath, we had a pretty decent team but it was chilled out enough for me to not be so stressed about it, I played my rugby and enjoyed myself, I lived in a nice area and went into London and did my own thing, working a little bit on life outside of rugby.
“I feel pretty lucky to have had the opportunities I've had and now I feel that as I'm a bit older and more mature I'll be better at dealing with setbacks and whatever than I was before.”
One setback completely outside of Peters' control was the ineligible player debacle that cost Spain their place in both the 2019 and 2023 World Cup tournaments.
“Hopefully, in the next cycle we'll be able to do things properly and actually get where we should be and probably deserve to be,” the 6ft 7in forward said.
Peters' only focus for now though is on trying to force his way past the likes of Sean Robinson, Greg Peterson, Seb de Chaves, George Merrick into the Newcastle second row.
“I set myself a goal two years ago to play in the Prem and go to a World Cup. One of them is pretty possible this year, the other not so.
“In terms of Newcastle, I'd just love to get some game time and challenge myself at a higher level and just see where I stand. I feel good, it's just getting an opportunity and taking it really.
“I am the least experienced (of the locks) by a country mile. But I don't feel too out of place to be honest, so we'll see how it goes.”
