STEVENSON
NEWCASTLE CENTRE
Ben Stevenson is well on his way to fulfilling his boyhood dream of becoming a professional rugby player, but the Newcastle Academy centre is not going to put all his eggs in one basket trying to do so.
After completing his studies at Yarm School, the former Middlesbrough RFC player scored with his first touch on his senior debut for Blaydon in National One during the 2015-16 campaign at the age of 17.
Stevenson, 19, has impressed the Falcons coaches already this season with a memorable performance in the Premiership Sevens, but instead of training fulltime with the club he spends his week at Durham University, where he studies law.
“I could have gone full-time after school but I decided to sort out my education and get a degree first,” he told The Rugby Paper.
“Newcastle were very understanding and my rugby hasn’t suffered from my decision. You never know what’s around the corner in this game and it could all be over in a flash due to injury.
“I’ve just started my second year so I’ve got one more year at University before hopefully going fulltime with the Falcons.
“It was tough to manage both last season but I feel much more comfortable with it now and it’s all going pretty well.
“Studying full-time I’m only training with Newcastle during the holidays but I come up every so often ahead of games.
“I’ll also be playing in the BUCS Super League with my University which is a very good standard so I’ll be getting plenty of rugby to keep improving.
“I’m more at home in the wider channels being able to play outside centre or in the back three, so getting used to the speed of the game and making the right decision especially when it comes to the defensive aspect of the game is what I’m trying to work on.”
Stevenson made his Newcastle debut last November coming off the bench against Saracens in the AngloWelsh Cup.
The cross-border competition will be on his radar once again and the 6ft 2in and 14 stone midfielder is also hoping to get a run out in the Falcons shirt on the continent.
He added: “It was brilliant to make my professional debut last season. I was supposed to start but I managed to pick up tonsillitis in the build-up so I had to drop to the bench.
“I managed to make a few breaks which was nice, but I was taken by the speed of the game a bit.
“This season has started really well being involved in the Premiership Sevens in the summer and I scored the golden try in the semi-final against Harlequins, although we did lose against Wasps and their super squad in the final.
“I then played some pre-season games so I’m looking to carry on with the coaches being happy with me given the feedback I got at the end of the summer.