Young Gun: Will Witty – Newcaslte lock

It has taken longer than he would have wanted but Will Witty is ready to make up for lost time now he’s recovered from the foot injury that sidelined him for the start of the season.
The lock, 20, was a standout performer for England U20s at the last Junior World Cup and Falcons fans expected to see him turn out for the first team on a regular basis, but the injury, suffered during pre-season, halted his progress.
The Challenge Cup has helped him get some game time since his return. He started against Enisei in Sochi yesterday and is now looking to add to his two Premiership appearances.
“I had a stress fracture in my foot during pre-season doing a step session and running on the beach,” he told The Rugby Paper. “I had to have surgery and had a screw put in but I’m all good now and I’ve been back playing for a few weeks.
“The injury was tough to take because I had really wanted to kick on after the JWC. I was hoping to play for the first team from the off so I was devastated when they told me how long I’d be out for.
“I just had to put my head down and hope it wouldn’t feel too long. They said I’d be out for 12 weeks and I think I was back playing in 14 weeks. It was hard to see the boys play without being able to make my mark.
“Yesterday was my third appearance of the season for the first team so I hope I can push on now. I managed to get a couple of Premiership games towards the end of last season so hopefully I can add to that in the next few weeks.”
Witty, who hails from Malton in Yorkshire, had gone about his business unnoticed for most of last season making three Challenge Cup appearances but he revelled in making his Premiership debut at Gloucester in late April.
He went on to represent England at the JWC, playing in four of the five games including a start in the final against New Zealand.
“I didn’t really know I was going to the World Cup until three weeks before. I had been in the squad all season but never played in the Six Nations.
“The coaches spoke to me and told me what I had to do to get my chance. That’s what I did and on the back of the Gloucester game they told me I made the squad to go to Italy.
“I was lucky to start the first game against Japan playing the full 80 minutes and it went from there really.
“In a way I didn’t give the coaches a reason to drop me and maybe I can do the same with Dean Richards and the first team at the Falcons.”