Will Stuart

Will Stuart
Stuart at the 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup
Full nameWilliam James Stuart
Date of birth (1996-07-12) 12 July 1996
Place of birthWestminster, England
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight135 kg (298 lb; 21 st 4 lb)
SchoolFarleigh School
Radley College
Notable relative(s)Sam Smith (Singer)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop
Current team Bath
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2019 Wasps 32 (20)
2014–2016 → Blackheath (loan) 12 (5)
2016–2017 → Birmingham Moseley (loan) 6 (0)
2017–2019 → Nottingham (loan) 8 (5)
2019– Bath 98 (70)
Correct as of 25 May 2025
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 England U20 10 (0)
2020– England 50 (15)
2025 British & Irish Lions 3 (5)
Correct as of 2 August 2025

William James Stuart (born 12 July 1996) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Premiership Rugby club Bath and the England national team.[1]

Early life

Stuart started playing rugby at Andover RFC in Hampshire before moving on to Salisbury RFC in Wiltshire. He was schooled at Radley College in Oxfordshire.[2] He went to a prep school called Farleigh School.[3]

Club career

Stuart joined the Wasps academy after leaving school.[4] He spent time on loan in National League 1 and the RFU Championship with Blackheath, Moseley and Nottingham.[5] Stuart made his Wasps debut on 4 November 2016 against Sale Sharks.[3]

On 18 January 2019, his signing for the 2019–20 season was announced by Bath.[6] Stuart played in the 2024 Premiership Rugby final which saw Bath lose against Northampton Saints to finish league runners up.[7]

Stuart started in the 2024–25 EPCR Challenge Cup final as Bath beat Lyon to win their first European trophy for seventeen years.[8] The following month Stuart played in the 2025 Premiership final which saw Bath beat Leicester Tigers to become champions of England for the first time since 1996.[9]

International career

England

Stuart represented England at the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship[4] and came off the bench in the final as England defeated Ireland to become junior World champions.[10]

In January 2020 Stuart received his first call up by coach Eddie Jones to the senior England squad for the 2020 Six Nations Championship.[11] On 2 February 2020 Stuart made his Test debut as a replacement for Kyle Sinckler in the opening round defeat away to France.[12][13] He also played in the final round as England beat Italy to win the tournament.[14]

In November 2020 Stuart made his first start for England in their opening game of the Autumn Nations Cup against Georgia[15] and subsequently came off the bench in the final as England defeated France after extra-time to win the competition.[16]

Stuart started all three tests on their 2022 tour of Australia as England won the series.[17] Later that year on 19 November 2022, Stuart came off the bench against New Zealand to score his first two international tries which would subsequently draw the game 25–25, with England having been 17–3 down at half time. This made him the first England prop to score twice in a test match.[18]

Stuart was included in the England squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.[19] He played in three of their pool games.[20] Stuart was not selected for either the quarter-final victory over Fiji or semi-final elimination against champions South Africa.[21] He made his only start of the tournament in their last fixture as England defeated Argentina to finish third with the Bronze medal.[22]

Stuart started all five of their games during the 2025 Six Nations Championship.[23] In the last round Stuart scored a try on his fiftieth appearance for England as they beat Wales at the Millennium Stadium to finish runners up.[24]

British & Irish Lions

On 8 May 2025 it was announced that Stuart had been selected for the British & Irish Lions squad by coach Andy Farrell for their 2025 tour of Australia.[25]

Stuart made his Test debut for the Lions off the bench during the opening match of the series.[26] He also replaced Tadhg Furlong as a substitute in the next game at Sydney Cricket Ground which the Lions also won to claim their first series win in twelve years.[27] In the last match of the tour at Stadium Australia, Stuart scored a consolation try in a defeat as the Wallabies prevented a whitewash.[28]

List of international tries

as of 2 August 2025[29]

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 19 November 2022 Twickenham Stadium, London, England  New Zealand 11–25 25–25 2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals
2 23–25
3 15 March 2025 Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales  Wales 33–7 68–14 2025 Six Nations Championship
4 2 August 2025 Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia  Australia 12–22 12–22 2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia

Honours

Bath
England

References

  1. ^ "Will Stuart ESPN profile". ESPN. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Young Gun: Will Stuart – Wasps and England U20s tighthead". The Rugby Paper. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Will Stuart". Ultimate Rugby. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b Slot, Owen (23 December 2020). "How Coventry 'hiding' forged England's new front-row star". The Times. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  5. ^ Bridge, Bobby (26 September 2018). "Wasps' 133kg prop Will Stuart making Premiership waves after school of hard knocks". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  6. ^ Bridge, Bobby (18 January 2019). "Bath Rugby sign Will Stuart from Wasps - and this is why he chose his new club". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  7. ^ Hurcom, Sophie (8 June 2024). "Northampton hold off 14-man Bath in Premiership final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  8. ^ a b Hurcom, Sophie (23 May 2025). "Bath overpower Lyon to win European Challenge Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  9. ^ a b Hurcom, Sophie (14 June 2025). "Bath end 29-year wait for Premiership title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  10. ^ Fallon, John (25 June 2016). "Dominant England blow Ireland away in U20 World Cup final". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  11. ^ Jones, Chris (20 January 2020). "Six Nations 2020: England call up eight uncapped players". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  12. ^ Jones, Chris (31 January 2020). "France v England: George Furbank starts Six Nations opener". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  13. ^ Fordyce, Tom (2 February 2020). "France 24-17 England: England lose Six Nations opener in Paris". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  14. ^ a b Grey, Becky (31 October 2020). "Italy 5-34 England: Visitors' victory proves enough to win Six Nations title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  15. ^ de Menezes, Jack (12 November 2020). "England v Georgia team news: Jack Willis to make debut as Ollie Lawrence and Will Stuart start Autumn Nations Cup clash". The Independent. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  16. ^ a b Henson, Mike (6 December 2020). "Autumn Nations Cup: England beat France in sudden death". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  17. ^ Henson, Mike (16 July 2022). "Australia 17-21 England: Tourists seal series win over Australia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  18. ^ Kelleher, Will (20 November 2022). "I nearly botched that first try – Eddie said I need to sort my finishing drills, says Twickenham hero Will Stuart". The Times. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  19. ^ "England World Cup squad: Henry Slade & Alex Dombrandt miss out, Joe Marchant & Theo Dan in". BBC Sport. 7 August 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  20. ^ Henson, Mike (23 September 2023). "England 71-0 Chile". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  21. ^ Henson, Mike (22 October 2023). "England 15-16 South Africa: Springboks fightback settles World Cup semi-final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  22. ^ a b Henson, Mike (27 October 2023). "Argentina 23-26 England: England overcome Pumas to win Rugby World Cup bronze-medal match". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  23. ^ Meagher, Gerard (24 February 2025). "Prop Will Stuart has become the cornerstone of England's scrum". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  24. ^ Kitson, Robert (15 March 2025). "England put 10-try demolition job on Wales but France kill title dream". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  25. ^ Hamilton, Tom (8 May 2025). "British & Irish Lions: Maro Itoje named captain for Australia tour". ESPN. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  26. ^ English, Tom (19 July 2025). "Imperfect Lions beat Australia to take series lead". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  27. ^ English, Tom (26 July 2025). "Lions fight back to win series against Australia in classic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  28. ^ English, Tom (2 August 2025). "Wallabies out-play Lions to avoid series whitewash". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  29. ^ "Will STUART profile and stats". all.rugby. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
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