Young Gun: Liam O’Neill – Nottingham winger

Liam O’Neill was keen to impress Martin Haag when he made his Nottingham debut last weekend and two tries at Welford Road should have done just that.
Winger O’Neill, 20, crossed once in each half as the Championship side claimed a famous 26-19 East Midlands derby win over Leicester in what was a promising start to the new season.
He arrived at Nottingham this summer on the back of a troubled season in which he played only a handful of games for Wasps and London Welsh.
But, having signed a one-year deal with Nottingham, he aims to settle in and help the club live up to their semi-finals ambitions.
O’Neill said: “My debut went as well as it could have. I couldn’t have asked for more than scoring two tries at Welford Road. The team played really well, too, and that was the most important really.
“Being told I wasn’t in Dai Young’s plans at Wasps, I asked to be released and joined London Welsh in February for more game time.
“I had a good time at Old Deer Park but with them getting promoted it meant I’d get limited chances in the Premiership.
“Playing regularly is key for my development and I’m looking forward to this new experience in the Championship.
“Moving in with fly-half Will Maisey, I’ve settled in nicely into the squad since my move from London Welsh.
“We want to finish in the top four and make the semi-finals so hopefully I can help the club in doing that.”
A naturally fast runner, O’Neill grew up playing in the wider channels at Stratford upon Avon where he started playing at the age of 7.
His talent was quickly spotted by regional teams and, while at Southam College, he was picked by Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and South West U16s.
That is when Wasps’ legendary scout and academy manager Rob Smith was made aware of his potential and he was quick to enrol him at Henley College to play in the AASE league for Wasps.
Turning out for Henley Hawks on weekends to experience men’s rugby, he helped the club win the National League Two South and earn promotion to National League One.
In that same year of 2013, O’Neill also made his first team debut for Wasps playing in the A-League as well as the Premiership 7s Series at Twickenham.
But things did not go as well in 2014 and O’Neill is now looking to kick-start his career in the Midlands under another renowned coach.
He said: “I’ve always played out wide whether it was on the wing, centre or full-back and playing under Rob Smith’s management in the Wasps academy and Henley College for those two years was great and I learnt a lot.
“It was the same at Henley with coaches like Nigel Dudding, Mike Poulson and Pete Davies. I played a lot of rugby there which helped me move forward.
“After a difficult season, I was looking for a fresh start and Nottingham was a club that interested me a lot. I’d heard very good things about Martin Haag and was keen to play under his management.”