Will Wand enjoying life as a Leicester Tiger

By Paul Rees

Will Wand is living his dream with Leicester, the club he supported as a boy, having become a professional rugby player in an unconventional way.

After the 23-year-old centre left college, he found himself in limbo during the pandemic. He lived in Spalding, the club where he started playing, but Lincolnshire is hardly the epicentre of the English game.

“I sent an e-mail with highlights of me playing to Richie Williams, the head coach at Cambridge,” said Wand, who joined Leicester in the summer from Coventry.

“I was 18 at the time and having left college wanted to keep playing rugby. Cambridge was an hour away from my home and training three nights a week was more than doable which is why I sent the e-mail.

“Richie gave me a call, said he liked the look of my highlights reel and asked me what my ambitions were. He was really good and it was the pivotal point of my career.

“You have to push yourself and I do not know how things would have panned out if I had not done so. I had planned to do A levels, but left after two days and ended up working on a building site.”

Journey to Leicester

Wand spent a year with Cambridge in National 1, scoring seven tries in 20 appearances, before signing for Championship side Coventry where he spent two seasons.

Learning: Leicester centre Will Wand

“Coventry were an ambitious club and very well coached,” said Wand, whose brother Tom, a prop, came through the academy at Leicester and now plays for Sheffield.

“They gave me the platform to express myself on the pitch and my second year there went really well. We had the Premiership Cup at the start of that season which gave the club something to strive for.

“I learned a lot at Cambridge and Coventry, gaining an insight into how hard you need to work to make it. Game time is important for young players and having had aspirations to be a full-time rugby player, I knew that it was what I wanted to do.

“I was full-time at Coventry and there is a burning ambition at the club to make it to the Premiership. I hope they crack it because they have the set-up without question.”

Wand scored 17 tries in 42 appearances for Coventry and was noticed by Leicester who made their move before the end of last season and offered him a two-year contract.

“It happened very quickly,” he said.

“My agent told me there was interest and it went from there. I watched them growing up and when I was playing for Coventry and Cambridge, going up there when I had a free weekend with my dad, girlfriend, brother and mates.”

Tigers Debut

Wand did not have to wait long before making his Tigers debut, coming off the bench against Newcastle in the third round of the Premiership and scoring a try.

“I have been more involved than I thought I would,” he said.

“I knew it would be tough and that my game time would go down, but I had to bide my time at Coventry at first and if someone had said three years ago that I would be playing in the Premiership I would have thought they were crazy.”

When Wand signed for Leicester Dan McKellar headed the coaching setup but by the time he arrived for pre-season training another Australian, Michael Cheika, had taken over.

“It is a really enjoyable environment,” he said.

“We work hard and play hard. The coach says that when you cross the white line you become a different animal. He is very approachable and the club has benefited from his presence.

“We have had some good results but we can become a great team. There is so much talent here and for a young player like me having the likes of Handre Pollard, Ben Youngs and Freddie Steward to learn from can only make you better.

“It was a special moment when I came on against Newcastle. My first start was against Northampton in the Premiership Cup and I resolved to go out there and enjoy it.

“One of the things I learned at Coventry was the need for workrate on and off the ball.

“The game is becoming quicker and quicker and it is important for me to keep learning and building. You have to keep your head up and train well. Being at Leicester is a blessing.”

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