OLLIE DEVOTO ON...

...his dad Steve, Sherborne RFC, and Bryanston

My dad was more of a 13, but he had to give the game up early due to a bad back, and then he went into coaching at Sherborne RFC.

One of my earliest memories was sitting in the front seat of a minibus going to matches with the colts team that he coached, and then later he coached the first team, so then I’d go to matches on both Saturday and Sunday. I used to muck around on the touchline, and one of the guys who was on the bench for the first team, Mike Barrow, used to buy me a can of coke and a Mars bar at every match.

My main goal was to play pro rugby. My dad paid for me to go to Bryanston for two years after being at the Gryphon School in Sherborne, which is non fee-paying, so I could give it a go.

...his rugby heroes and coaching influences as a youngster

When I was at school I was a 10, so Jonny Wilkinson was who I looked up to. Other than that it was my dad – he coached me all the way along, and even now he is always the first person I talk to after a match. I was also helped a great deal by my coaches at Bryanston, Mike Pyrgos – whose son is Scotland scrum-half Henry Pyrgos – and former Bath forward Andy Marriott.

...joining the Bath Academy

It was the feeder for Bryanston – and we had a good school team, which included Charlie Ewels, Max Clark, Tom Woolstencroft and Rory Jennings, and we all made the progression to the Bath Academy together. Charlie and Max are still with Bath, Tom with Saracens, and Rory is now a fly-half at Coventry.

...deciding whether to play 10, 12, 13 or 15

My move from fly-half to full-back came about because of an injury crisis at Bath. I was due to go to Cornish Pirates on loan, and was even in the Pirates match programme, where they had superimposed my face on a small bloke’s body! Then Bath’s coach, Gary Gold, told me they wanted me to switch to play at 15 in a European Challenge Cup match against Bucharest.

I was 18, and soon after that I made my first Premiership appearance off the bench against Wasps, before making my first start, still at full-back, against Exeter at Sandy Park. I enjoyed playing full-back, but I never saw myself staying at 15. I was still quite light, and when you are 6ft 4ins, it shows – so I put on a bit of weight and moved to centre, and knew straight away that it was for me. There was a bit more confrontation, and involvement, and I really enjoyed it.

...if his four-week ban for a high tackle on Marcus Smith is over?

We’ve asked the question, but I’ve no idea. I think it was a match ban initially, but with these circumstances who knows?

...on life in lockdown

I really enjoyed the first few weeks, because it was so alien to the normal regime. My partner enjoys keeping fit, so we did some work-outs together, and I’ve been playing a bit of golf with Joe Simmonds. He plays off seven, and my handicap is 14, so he has to give me a few shots – which he absolutely hates!