CORNISH All Blacks have announced the return of crowd favourite Andy Knight ahead of the upcoming South West Premier season.

The former Ivybridge and Brixham prop, 31, has been out of the game for a couple of years, but a shift pattern change at work means he is back.

Knight told the Post: “The change of work pattern means I’ve got the time to dedicate myself to rugby again.

“Launceston is where I started my adult career over a decade ago and has always felt like home to me. It was the first club I reached out to once I got the itch to play again.

“Also, my children love watching me play and they’ve been hounding me to get back as well. Launceston has a great family vibe and the children love going to all the home games.”

Knight, who is about to start his third spell, having been part of the promotion-winning side in 2018/19, hopes to stay a while and bring some know-how.

He said: “We’ve got a lot of talented younger players, so I’ll be looking to bring a bit of wisdom and street-smart on the pitch. I’ve been through the School of Hard Knocks of rugby and know all the tricks of the game.

“Where you’ll see me is at scrum time and at rucks. I’m a pretty big hitter, want to make sure we go forward at scrum time, love to make carries and make big collisions.

“I’m looking to play now for as long as they will have me or my body gives up.”

The former Truro College student, who was in the South West England Academy, believes stability is key.

Solid

He said: “It’s been a strange old time for rugby in the last couple of years so we just want to have a solid season to find out where we are as a team.

“If we can lay some solid foundations and have a decent first half of the season, we can assess from there.”

With a 400-plus crowd to play in front of, it’s no surprise Knight can’t wait for the first league game at home against Exmouth on September 11.

He added: “I’m already buzzing to come back to Launceston and play in front of everyone again. Many of the supporters are like family to me, so it’ll be great to see them again after the game, and enjoy the family atmosphere they bring to the club.”

Joint head coach Ian Goldsmith told the Post: “We are delighted to announce the fourth signing of the summer with the return of Andy.

“Andy’s last game for the CABs was the play-off game v Old Centralians where he played a huge part in helping the club achieve promotion to the SW Premier League.

“Unfortunately, his work-shift patterns prevented Andy from being able to commit to the team, in their return to SW Premier, but this season that issue has now changed and we jumped at the chance to re-sign him as soon as we knew.

“Andy brings a huge physicality to the squad and has shown in the past that he has all the attributes to succeed at this level and also National Two.

“He is a destructive scrummager, real handful carrying the ball and makes tackles and hits rucks with real power. Welcome back Andy!”