Young Guns – Will Knight

Gloucester & England U18 Centre

By Ben Jaycock

Gloucester-born Will Knight is enjoying following in the footsteps of his family members to proudly represent the Cherry and Whites.

Knight, 18, is the younger brother of Gloucester centre Max and cousin of prop Ciaran. The fellow centre, who captained England U18s in the 71-5 thrashing of Scotland last week, is chomping at the bit for his Gloucester debut.

He told The Rugby Paper: “It’s brilliant to be here. As a Gloucester boy, that’s what you dream of in terms of playing in front of the Shed.

“My family and friends are incredibly proud, especially my dad and my grandad.”

Knight was welcomed into the England U20s training group during their recent Six Nations campaign, and Knight enjoyed learning from his predecessors who went on to win the Junior World Cup last year.

He added: “It was a massive opportunity having the likes of the England U20 players around me who’ve completed the U18s and been playing at big clubs.

“To have the ability to ask questions and learn has made me into a better player.”

Versatile

Knight doesn’t mind playing 12 or 13 and says having the ability to play both should put him in good stead regarding selection for club or country down the line.

He said: “England is who everybody dreams of playing for, and I hope to have many more opportunities to pull on the red rose.

I feel I’ve developed well, especially within this England pathway, which has helped me a lot.

“I would say my strongest attribute is my ability to read defenders. Having the ability to play either 12 or 13 is very important in that it gives me different perspectives on both sides of the ball.

“If I had to pick one, I would go with 13, but they are very similar, and it’s nice to have that flexibility.

“I want to improve on my kicking because that would be really helpful for the team if I could kick through a grubber or a chip over the top.

“Having that in my attacking game would make my overall game come on leaps and bounds. Another work on would be around my dominance in defence.

“I’ve focused on tackling a lot in pre-season and have incorporated that through drills, which hopefully by next season will allow me to thrive in that area.”

Football Path

Knight could have easily played football instead of rugby, given he was scouted for West Bromwich Albion as a central midfielder, but eventually opted to pursue rugby.

He said: “I was playing football and rugby from the age of five and had to make a decision when I was 14 or 15, in year nine because I was training five times a week across both sports. In the end I chose rugby because I enjoyed it more and most of my friends were playing rugby.”

Knight grew up idolising New Zealand centre Conrad Smith and has enjoyed learning from Scotland midfielder Chris Harris at Gloucester.

He said: “Conrad Smith is my favourite because I feel like we’re very similar, so I sometimes, before games, watch clips of him just because I want to bring his game into mine.

“Watching him play in big stadiums in front of loads of fans gave me huge adrenaline to go and do the same. There’s quite a decent collection of centres here at Gloucester.

“Chris Harris has played for the British and Irish Lions and, therefore, experienced the highest level of rugby.

“His defence as a centre is probably one of the best, so I like to take ideas from him to bring into my game.”