Young Guns: Gloucester full-back/centre Tom Stanton

Twelve months ago, Tom Stanton was preparing to put his fledgling professional career on hold. A ruptured ACL suffered while playing for Cheltenham College at the Rosslyn Park 7s in March 2018 had meant a year out of the game and his future looked bleak.

However, having returned successfully against Bristol last April, the versatile back went on to prove his fitness and earned another crack. From being on the verge of packing up pro rugby to head to Exeter University, Stanton’s outlook has been transformed.

“The ACL injury kept me out for ten months, then during training I went up for a high ball and came down awkwardly, damaging the lateral collateral ligament in my other knee and costing me another three months on the sidelines,” Stanton, 20, lamented.

“At that stage I’d gained a place at Exeter University and thought I’d go there and just enjoy it, but I managed to get back in at Gloucester and put together five games towards the end of last season, after which they offered me an extension. I spoke to my dad, decided to have another shot and I’m so grateful to Gloucester for being able to do that.

“From having an awful year, I enjoyed a full pre-season, played two Premiership Cup games against London Irish and Harlequins and I’ve gone on to play a lot of games for Clifton in National League Two and been a regular in the Premiership Shield. That’s given me a good foundation now to progress my career and compete for a first team place.”

Hailing from Stow-on-the-Wold, Stanton played junior rugby locally before attending Cheltenham College, where he came under the influence of a Gloucester legend.

“Olly Morgan was probably the reason I thought about taking rugby more seriously,” Stanton explains. “I was better at hockey as a kid and played cricket too, but Olly and the other coaches saw something in me and I got into Gloucester’s academy set-up when I was 13. By 16, I knew I wanted to try and make it as a pro so I dedicated myself to it.

“When I was younger, I was quite chubby and played back row, but I had a growth spurt, ended up playing fly-half and then moved into the centres. I’ve played a lot at 13 and I enjoy that, but I’m not the biggest so I’d like to fix full-back as my position and excel there.”

Stanton has impressive role models, adding: “Tom Marshall and Jason Woodward are great full-backs while I’ve also taken good advice from guys like Tom Seabrook and Henry Trinder. Henry’s had injuries to deal with as well so I’ve found him very easy to talk to.

“Further afield, Damian McKenzie’s a good guy to watch and one of my favourite fullbacks is Ben Smith – he always seems so calm. I also quite like George Furbank, who’s young, small and very athletic and agile – someone similar I can study and learn from.”

NEALE HARVEY