I was offered a NFL trial but it was too big a risk

When I was 16, in my first season for Colston’s, I dislocated and broke my ankle and broke my leg playing in a festival up in Tynedale.

- IAN DAVEY

We had a great team – every one of us went on to get a pro contract – and I remember Warren Fury, who went on to play for the Falcons among a few other clubs, praying behind the goals after seeing my foot facing the wrong way. It was horrific. But thankfully the support network I had around me in Bath’s academy and at the school itself helped to get me through what was a tricky time.

Before the injury I’d clocked 10.6 for the 100 metres so, potentially, I was on track to one day break the 10-second barrier. The injury naturally took a bit of edge off my speed but I was still quick and at one point later on in my career, just before I moved to Spain, I was offered an 11-week trial, on very good money, by an NFL club who saw me as a potential wide receiver. Having family in Boston Massachusetts, I was an NFL fan from an early age – the Patriots are my team – so it was very appealing. But, back then, they didn’t have an organised pathway in place like there has been for Louis Rees-Zammit and Christan Wade, so it was considered too big a risk.

Brian Ashton put me on the bench against Worcester for the last game of the 2005/06 season but it wasn’t until the following October that I made my senior Bath debut in the EDF Cup, away to Bristol. Being part of that squad was brilliant for me as a young winger. Matt Perry took me under his wing and I had people like Joe Maddocks and David Bory to learn from. If you look at that team, man for man I would back them against anyone. We blew some teams away but we lacked the consistency needed to win the league. It was great, though, to be in the European Challenge Cup-winning squad in 2008. It’s incredible to think that that’s still the last trophy the club has won, but I’m pretty sure the wait will be over soon.