Toby Knight (rugby union)
Toby Knight is an English professional rugby union player, who currently plays as a back row forward for Premiership Rugby side Saracens.[1]
Birth name | Toby Knight | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 5 January 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 110 kg (17 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Berkhamsted School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
Knight grew up in Southend-on-Sea, Essex and attended Shoeburyness High School.[2] He played youth rugby at Westcliff, later earning a scholarship to Berkhamsted School.[3] This would eventually lead to his recruitment into the Saracens academy.[4]His nickname at school was 'Top Shagger'.
Club career
After progressing through the junior ranks and into the Saracens senior academy, Knight made his initial first-team appearances in the pool stages of the 2021–22 Premiership Rugby Cup, before his Premiership debut followed away to Gloucester in June 2022, at the end of the 2021–22 regular season.[5] In these matches, he was deployed both as a flanker and as a Number 8.[1] Before the start of the 2022–23 season, Knight was promoted into the Saracens first-team squad on a full-time basis.[6] During this season, he was also dual-registered with Ampthill in the RFU Championship.[5]
He helped Saracens win the Premiership title in 2023, and was an unused replacement in the final as Saracens defeated Sale Sharks.[7]
International career
Knight has represented England at age-group level, including a call-up to the England U18s when he was just 17.[3] He was also part of the England U20s squad for the 2022 Six Nations and their subsequent summer series that year.[5] During the U20s Six Nations, Knight captained England on several occasions, notably on his debut appearance against Scotland U20s, when he scored two tries on the way to a 41–24 victory.[2]
References
- "Toby Knight". Saracens. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- "Toby Knight skippers England's under 20 team to victory against Scotland". Basildon, Canvey & Southend Echo. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- "U18s Academy pair get National Training Camp call ups". Westcliff RFC. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- "TOBY KNIGHT'S PROGRESSION HAS GAINED HIM RECOGNITION AT BOTH CLUB AND INTERNATIONAL LEVEL". Saracens. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- "Toby KNIGHT - Player statistics". It's Rugby. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- "Saracens Men confirm 22/23 First Team Squad". Saracens. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- "Premiership final: Saracens 35-25 Sale - Sarries win sixth title in Twickenham thriller". BBC. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.