Elliott Stooke determined to prove his worth at London Irish

Elliott Stooke says he had to leave Gloucester for bitter West Country rivals Bath in order to reignite his faltering career.
A World Cup winner with England U20s in 2013, lock enforcer Stooke enjoyed stellar 2013-14 campaign at Kingsholm, featuring in all 22 league games under ex-boss Nigel Davies.
The arrival of David Humphreys changed all that, though, and Stooke, 22, is currently on loan at London Irish, having found himself frozen out at Gloucester since the arrivals of Test stars Mariano Galarza and Jeremy Thrush.
Stooke, below, told The Rugby Paper: “I’m obviously disappointed to be leaving the club and it is frustrating when players come in and take your position.
“But at the end of the day you want Gloucester to do as well as they possibly can and if that means the likes of Mariano and Jeremy have to play, so be it.
“They’re high quality players so it’s made it tough. I had a good run of games after the 2013 World Cup but after Nigel Davies left I just fell out of favour and now these opportunities at London Irish and Bath have come up, I’ve grabbed them with both hands.
“Gloucester’s my club and it’ll be disappointing not to continue. There’ll always be a piece of my heart there and it’s sad to be leaving, but it’s all about personal development and it’s great to have an opportunity to play at Irish.”
Of his impending move to Bath, Stooke added: “I met the coaches and liked the way they spoke, so I just need to get back to a level where I can be at my best again and make an impact around the field and at the set-piece area.
“Neal Hatley and Toby Booth are great blokes and, hopefully, this move will give me the kick up the backside I’ve probably needed.
“They want consistency from me – round the field, clearouts, breakdowns, tackles, mauls and all the dirty work – and I hope I can do the job there.
“They’ve got Luke Charteris coming in and have other good second rows there so I don’t want to be in the same position I was at Gloucester, but I’m going to Bath to develop my game and I’ll be fighting hard for my spot.”
In the meantime, Stooke is ready to scrap for struggling Irish. He said: “I’m grateful to David Humphreys for letting me come down here and I’m really excited about trying to keep Irish up. It’s a massive task ahead of us but one the boys are champing at the bit to take control of.
“We’ll fight hard in the face of adversity.”
NEALE HARVEY