WORCESTER Warriors under 18s player Will Butler wants to follow in the footsteps of Ben Howard and Max Stelling.

The 16-year-old Butler has set his sights on reaching the Warriors senior academy after making his Sixways debut against the Army in February.

“I see guys like Ben Howard and Max Stelling as the perfect role models,” he said.

“They’ve worked their way up and are now playing at the top level despite being a young age.

“It was such a big thing for me to come in at such a young age to play for the Cavaliers.

“Not many people would give you that kind of respect but it shows the opportunities you can get at Warriors.”

Butler is a pupil at Hereford Cathedral School and hopes he will get more opportunities to play on the Sixways turf.

He said: “I’d never played in front of that many people before. It was a great experience and a proud one for me with all my family watching.

“All day I’d been thinking about it and gearing up to it but it couldn’t have gone much better and it was a great result beating the Army.

“Where the club is going at the minute, it’s a great place to be and I want to be a part of that. My main aim now is to get an academy contract at Warriors.”

Butler has played alongside academy players Sam Smith, Andrew Kitchener and Huw Taylor as part of the under 18s team.

“Players like Huw help us massively,” said Butler. “They are leaders. They galvanise the boys in the team as some of them struggle to voice their opinion so when players like Huw come in they’re loud, which helps us to communicate.”

With Warriors having set up six junior academy centres in the West Midlands this season, Butler insists the latest, at his own school, is a huge benefit to aspiring young rugby players looking for a clear pathway to the top of the game.

“When people in Hereford see the pathway into professional rugby that is there for them with Warriors, it should spur them on to try and reach the top,” Butler said.