As a tighthead prop, Joe Heyes came through the Notts Lincs and Derby development group to join the Tigers academy and enjoyed a breakthrough senior season in 2018/19 when he made more than 20 first-team appearances.

Following in family footsteps as a goalkeeper, he was part of Nottingham Forest academy system before turning to rugby with Nottingham Moderns and then Newark.

After joining the Tigers academy, he gained international selection with England Under-18s, playing in all nine fixtures in 2017 including the tour to South Africa.

He played in the 2018 Under-20s Six Nations as one of the youngest members of the squad, then went to the World Junior Championship in France, playing in every round including the Final, and repeated the feat in the summer of 2019, scoring a try in the fifth-placed final win over Wales.

After another 24 appearances for Tigers in 2019/20, he was among 12 uncapped players called into an England training camp at the end of the season ahead of the autumn series.

Follow Joe Heyes on social media

Instagram: @joe__heyes | Twitter: @JosephHeyes7