Young Gun: Jack Gadd – Bristol centre
The former Wales U20 international made it three starts in as many games as Bristol saw off Cornish Pirates last Sunday and is expected to make a fourth start today against Leeds.
Last season Gadd, 21, was restricted to a single British & Irish Cup appearance for Bristol against Ayr, while also turning out for National Two side Clifton.
Operations on both hips in June and July kept him out of action for four months, and further complications held him back even further.
He said: “I was born with a hip impingement and last season it had a big impact because of the operations.
“It's great to have the opportunities I do now and I do appreciate it because of how long I was out. It was a problem that obviously got worse with high-level sport which accelerated the need for an operation.
“There are still things that I need to be careful with and I've had to adapt my game a bit but the operations were a success. The physio and rehab I've had at Bristol has been brilliant for me getting back to fitness.”
With Bristol currently missing the injured Fautua Otto, Gadd has been given his chance in the centre and has so far impressed in matches against Newcastle, Doncaster and Pirates.
Last week's 29-17 success against the Pirates was enough to push Bristol into fifth in the table heading into the weekend.
And Gadd admits he is relishing the freedom he has been given by Middleton. He said: “This season has gone really well so far, getting the opportunities I have and working with the first team. I know I really need to work on my decision-making, stepping up to this level the pace of the game is the biggest test.
“Ball-carrying is one of my biggest strengths and that's something I've tried to work on and use as much as possible. I'm also working on getting the ball away from contact and offloading.
“Liam has been great telling me to work on doing the basics well and then anything a bit special will come in time. He's told me to be confident in my own ability and to back myself and it seems to be working.”
A product of Filton College in Bristol, Gadd's international experience so far comes on the other side of the Severn with Wales U20s and U18s. And he admits that the rugby mentality in the Principality had a major bearing on his current view of the game.
“It was great to play for Wales at age-group level because there is a very different take on how to play the game,” said Gadd, whose grandparents are from Wales.
“The most important thing was to make sure you played with your head up and didn't rely on set moves and that has had a big impact on my development.
“I've had a lot of help at Bristol as well. Junior Fatialofa was massive for me in my first two years and this year Luke Eves has given me a lot of advice too.
“It's vital to have that sort of experience to help you and now I just want to become as important a player as I can for the club this season.”
