Tavis Knoyle
Tavis Knoyle (born 2 June 1990 in Pontneddfechan, Vale of Neath, Wales)[1] is a Wales international rugby union footballer who plays at scrum-half.
| Birth name | Tavis Knoyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 2 June 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pontneddfechan, Vale of Neath, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 14 st 2 lb (90 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club career
After a youth career at home town club Glynneath RFC, he made his senior debut at Neath RFC, and made his Celtic League debut with Ospreys in April 2009.[3]
After impressing with Wales Under 20 squad,[4] he joined the Scarlets at the start of the 2009/10 campaign,[3] scoring his first try for the Scarlets in a victory over Ulster, and was awarded the Magners League Man of the Match.
On 16 May 2013, Knoyle signed to join English side Gloucester in the Aviva Premiership on a two-year contract, joining former Scarlets coach Nigel Davies who had been appointed Director of Rugby at the Kingsholm Stadium in June 2012.[5]
On 5 February 2014, he signed an agreement to join Cardiff Blues.[6][7]
Knoyle was loaned out to Pontypridd RFC 8 months later and made his debut for the club on 11 October 2014 against London Scottish in the British and Irish Cup. Knoyle played his final game for the valleys team against Connacht Eagles on 6 December 2014, before making his return to his parent regional side.
On 16 October 2016, Knoyle signed for Welsh region Dragons from the 2016-17 season.[8] In doing so he would become only the third player to play for all four professional Welsh rugby regions.[9]
International career
Having played for Wales at Under 16 and Under 18 levels, under the tutelage of Phil Davies he won four Wales Under 20 caps in 2009.[3][4]
Knoyle was named in the Wales squad to tour New Zealand in summer 2010, making his debut against New Zealand in Dunedin on 20 June 2010 as a second-half replacement.[3] Knoyle was named in the Welsh RBS 6 nations squad for 2011, winning his second cap in the clash with Scotland at Murrayfield, replacing Mike Phillips in the 76th minute.
References
- Tavis Knoyle rugby profile ESPN Scrum.com
- S4C Jonathan
- "Tavis Knoyle". Welsh Rugby Union. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- "Tavis Knoyles' unconventional rise to the top". Rugby World. September 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- "Gloucester sign Wales scrum half Tavis Knoyle". BBC Sport. 16 May 2013.
- "Scrum-half Tavis Knoyle signed from Gloucester". BBC Wales. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- "Tavis Knoyle to quit Kingsholm in the summer". Gloucester Citizen. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- "Former Wales scrum-half Tavis Knoyle to sign for Newport Gwent Dragons". Wales Online. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
- "Tavis Knoyle becomes only the third player to play for all four Welsh regions... so can you name the others?". Wales Online. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2018.