Wales
Knoyle says leaving Scarlets broke his heart
ESPN Staff
April 8, 2014
Tavis Knoyle runs out for Gloucester against his former Welsh region © Getty Images
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Wales scrum-half Tavis Knoyle said it broke his heart to have to leave the Scarlets at the end of the 2012-13 season.

Knoyle has been lining up for Gloucester this season but has found his first-team opportunities limited. He will be at the Cardiff Blues next term, a move he is looking forward to, but in an interview with the BBC, it is clear Knoyle was reluctant to leave Wales in the first place.

"I just thought they [Scarlets] treated me really badly," Knoyle said. "I know what I was like. In terms of the people around me I'm a positive person - it [the situation at Scarlets] just hurt me. It broke my heart, to be honest with you. But I've got over that and that's the way it is.

"I'm 23. I just want to work hard and I've got a lot to give. But first and foremost I want to go to the Blues and try to put a marker down."

Knoyle has found himself behind Jimmy Cowan and Dan Robson in the Gloucester scrum-half pecking order but he is hoping to get more first-team rugby at the Blues.

"Gloucester - to be fair, they took me in and I've tried, but I just haven't had the game time that I would have expected. Moving away has been difficult for me in terms of my family and stuff. I miss them a lot. No-one knows what goes on behind closed doors, but in terms of going back to Wales and to the Blues, I think it's a step in the right direction for myself.

"I just want to push on. I don't want to be stagnant and… I know in my heart of hearts if I keep working hard, not only on the rugby field, just being professional as I can so when I'm called upon, then I can do a good job."

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