News
Joe Howard stays for 2024/25
Bedford Blues are delighted to announce that last season’s Players’ Player of the Year, Joe Howard has agreed to extend his stay at Goldington Road into a second season.
The influential back row forward – who joined halfway into pre-season 11 months ago – capped off a fantastic debut campaign on an individual note by lifting the prestigious award at the End of Season Gala Dinner.
Voted for by his fellow teammates after every game, Howard was rewarded for some standout performances across his 22 appearances in all competitions, adding six tries along the way including one on the final day of the season.
He became the first player in history to earn Championship Clubs Podcast Team of the Week inclusions in all of the back row jerseys, as the 23-year-old was deployed in various guises throughout the season, adapting to all of them with impressive performances.
Howard has fully integrated himself within the Bedford community since arrival, taking a rugby development role at Blues Foundation and supporting our charitable arm in their ambitions of supporting young people and their education across Bedfordshire.
On extending his stay, Howard said: “A very easy decision for me to make, particularly off the back of the season the team had finishing fourth, and from a personal perspective as well.
“Being at Bedford has really allowed me to express myself on both sides of the ball, attack and defence. That has set my rugby on an upward trajectory so I’m excited to continue that progression.
“There are lots of lads in the squad who would have been deserving of the Players’ Player award but the fact it ended up being me was very humbling. It invigorates me even more to go again next season, I don’t want it to be like a one off, so I’m determined to back it up and go again in 24/25.”
Capped at England U18 and U19 level, Howard had an interesting upbringing into the sport by featuring for Joondalup Brothers RUFC in Perth, Australia as well as KL Tigers RUFC in Malaysia during his initial pathway into the sport.
Experiencing English rugby for the first time, he linked up with the Gloucester Academy set-up while studying at nearby Hartpury, completing a Sports Business Management degree during his time there.
After captaining Gloucester’s U18s side to the 2018/19 Prem Rugby Academy League final, Howard was swiftly promoted into the first team set-up, making his club debut in the Premiership Cup in September 2019 before a top-flight debut a few months later.
Benefitting from the relationship between Gloucester and Hartpury, he spent time at the university on dual registration before signing permanently. He departed for Bedford having skippered the fellow second-tier side on multiple occasions.
Commenting on retaining such a versatile member of his forwards pack, Director of Rugby, Mike Rayer added: “Winning Players’ Player of the Year says it all really as to the impact Joe had last year. He’s got such a professional manner and just gets on with the task in hand.
“It’s all the unseen work, the things he does behind the scenes. He has true leadership qualities which we need throughout the team, and we’re excited to see him continue his progression here again next season.”
