John Stewart: Q&A with Bath Rugby and England age group star

The 21-year-old front-rower spent his grassroots days at Dorchester RFC before Bath came calling. He has also represented England Under-18s and, outside of rugby, used to play for Martinstown Cricket Club.

Away from his endeavours in helping Bath to third in the Premiership table, Stewart tackles questions from Echosport’s Neil Walton.

NW: How does it feel to be a Premiership player at Bath Rugby?

JS: It's a class feeling and a privilege to be part of this amazing group we have here at the club. We are all aligned and driven towards the same goal. For me personally it's a huge milestone to get a foot in the door but I want to keep on pushing and be a regular name week-in, week-out.

READ MORE: Q&A with Dorchester's England and Bath star Orlando Bailey

NW: What drew you to rugby all those years ago before joining Dorchester?

JS: My dad grew up playing the sport so naturally I followed in his footsteps but quickly fell in love with it. I then kept playing and a big reason as to why I love being with Bath Rugby is because I found lifelong friends who I still see day-in and day-out.

John Stewart warming up for Bath (Image: PATRICK KHACHFE/ONSIDE IMAGES)

NW: Do you still keep in touch with people at the club, and the results?

JS: I do, yes. I will often get messages from Mike Sprules, our coach throughout my years at Dorchester, and I do tend to bump into him whenever I'm back in Dorchester or at the local. I'm close with Scott Clarke, too, the hooker for the current Dorchester first team so it's always nice to see how the firsts are getting on and checking in with him.

NW: You also play cricket for Martinstown occasionally, how do you balance the two sports?

JS: I used to play cricket in my off season for the first two or three years while with Bath Rugby for the social side and obviously to play something that's not rugby for a while, however, after my slightly lengthier knee injury I decided to nip it in the bud, purely out of self-preservation. I do still love ‘The Town’ and will always support them when I can.

Former Dorchester forward John Stewart is challenging for front-row spots at Premiership side Bath (Image: PATRICK KHACHFE/ONSIDE IMAGES)

NW: What’s it like playing with Orlando Bailey, another former Dorchester RFC player?

JS: Yeah, whenever I get the chance to actually play with him, I love it but it's mostly in training that we have a link up or something along those lines. Through knowing him for the last 10 or 11 years or so we've built a great connection, I sort of know what he's going to do before he does it and vice-versa.

NW: What can Bath Rugby achieve this season?

JS: Bath Rugby, as a club, have stopped hoping that we will win tournaments and silverware but instead we believe that we can. We know how we've grown over the last few seasons, and we believe we can win the Premiership and can win the European competition. This is not meant to sound a little cocky or arrogant but there's no point being in the position that we've earned as a club to stop believing we can win some silverware at the end of the season.

NW: Who’s going to win the Six Nations this season?

JS: I can't see any team in this Six Nations beating Ireland. They're just a different beast at the minute.

*Bath Rugby is offering Dorset Echo readers the opportunity to purchase a family package ticket offer (2 x adults and 2 x juniors) for just £29 to watch Bath Rugby v Gloucester in The Foundation Cup (Saturday 9 March, kick-off 14:30), and a family package ticket offer (2 x adults and 2 x juniors) for just £39 to watch Bath Rugby v Leinster (Friday 15 March, kick-off 19:15) .

Bath said: “The matches are sure to be must-sees and offer the chance to watch some of the biggest names in rugby including Thomas du Toit, Joe Cokanasiga, Tom Dunn and Dorset’s very own John Stewart.”

To access the Bath v Gloucester ticket offer, click here.

For the Bath v Leinster ticket offer, click here.