Stooke’s back on boil at Bath after freeze out from Fisher
HARD-NOSED lock Elliott Stooke aims to take centre stage in Bath’s dash for silverware and push his case for England honours alongside teammate Charlie Ewels.
Frozen out by Gloucester in 2015-16 after failing to see eyeto-eye with his then-forwards coach Laurie Fisher, former England U20s World Cup winner Stooke has been integral for Bath this season, featuring in every Premiership and Champions Cup game.
Stooke, 24, feels ready for the next step, telling TRP: “Ewelsy’s a really good player who deserves all the credit he gets with England, but I’d love to be there as well and I’m using the highs and lows I’ve had in my career to become a better player.
“I was young when I made my Gloucester breakthrough after coming out of the U20s and that got me into the Saxons in 2014. Things went well for a while, but my career suffered a setback there when Laurie Fisher was at the club.
“I’m not going to comment too much, but he had his own way of going about things and it didn’t work out for me. But coming to Bath gave me a new outlook; I feel more of a leader here and I’m working really hard to push on.”
Stooke, below, has a heavily congested route to international rugby, but added: “The players in the England set-up have earned their spots and England are doing bloody well at the moment so you can’t knock them in any way, but Eddie Jones likes players with a bit of steel about them and I’m developing my game, so hopefully that will come.
“Everyone has that standout skill that they can bring to the game and I’m working hard on the physicality I bring around the field and at the setpiece, while being part of different leadership groups at Bath has helped to develop my confidence.”
Stooke’s ruggedness owes plenty to his early experiences at Gloucester alongside one of the hardest characters of them all. He explained: “As a young fella there, big Jim Hamilton was the guy I really looked up to, not just as a player but as a bloke as well.
“He was good fun to be around but hard as nails as well and I was lucky having some older heads around like him, Alex Brown and Will James – the older generation of second rows who cared a great deal about what happened both on and off the field.
“They were great for me to learn off and I like to think those relationships and early experiences stood me in good stead and will serve me well in future.”
Stooke reckons Bath are a decent bet to end their ten-year trophy drought, adding: “Consistency’s not been there at times but we’re in good shape and if we can get into that top four, we’ll be confident in the knock-outs.”