Charlie Atkinson can see the funny side now. "I mean, I met my hero," he says with a smile, recalling his second Premiership appearance for Wasps in September 2020. Aged 18, he had been thrown into the first team as squads were stretched by a condensed post-lockdown fixture list. Shortly after coming off the bench against Saracens, he was blindsided by Owen Farrell's reckless, high tackle and left unconscious as the referee showed red. Farrell was contrite, checking on him on the touchline and visiting him in the dressing room. "It definitely put my name out there," Atkinson says. "It was obviously accidental, but it was a concussion, so I was sent home for the week and didn't play again that season."
Atkinson has since learned to see the upside. In his 21st year he became his boyhood club's first-choice fly-half and unknowingly played in Wasps' final game, a dramatic 40-36 defeat by Northampton. Days later, the club's demise was confirmed and his job was gone. "It was the only club I ever knew," he says. After Wasps went into administration in October 2022, Gloucester and Harlequins made approaches, but a meeting with Steve Borthwick at Leicester, who was offering a longer deal, convinced him to sign with the Tigers. A difficult year under Dan McKellar on the fringes followed, until Gloucester moved to sign him just a week after he had bought a house in Leicester.
"I'm just forever grateful for Gloucester coming in then," he says. "I love coming in here every day. There is a great, young core of guys, and everyone's mates with everyone." Gloucester, who finished eighth last season, have started like a train, beating Exeter on the opening day and flattening Harlequins 48-0 at Kingsholm. They now sit unexpectedly top of the Premiership. Atkinson is also in contention for England, having earned his solitary cap in July 2025 and been a regular for England A since. With Fin Smith, George Ford and Marcus Smith ahead of him, he says the competition is strong, and he is focused on helping Gloucester.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing