BATH star Elliott Stooke insists he does not hold any grudges against Worcester Warriors despite admitting to being disregarded in the past by his hometown club.

The Worcester-born lock from Eckington said he had a “sniff” of a chance to play for Warriors “back in the day” but conceded “they never really took any interest in me”.

Stooke, 25, is a former Prince Henry’s High School pupil and started out at Evesham, Bredon and Stow-on-the-Wold before going through the youth ranks at Gloucester.

After making more than 50 appearances for the Cherry and Whites Stooke joined Bath ahead of the 2016-17 season.

The 6ft 7in second row has become a key man for the Somerset side and produced a man-of-the-match showing in their 28-13 victory over Warriors at The Rec on Saturday.

“I was born in Worcester but sorry to say it I grew up supporting Gloucester so I don’t really care about Warriors to be honest with you,” Stooke said.

“But it is always nice to get a win over your hometown club.”

Asked whether he ever had the opportunity to play for Warriors in his career, Stooke added: “I had a bit of sniff back in the day.

“But they never really took any interest in me. I don’t hold grudges.”

Stooke troubled Warriors in the lineout and sealed victory for his side when he crossed the whitewash in the 78th minute.

The home triumph ended Bath’s seven-match winless streak in all competitions and saw them leapfrog Worcester in the Gallagher Premiership table.

“It’s been about a month since I had a game of rugby,” Stooke said.

“Personally I felt there was a little bit of rust with a couple of dropped balls and things I did wrong.

“But we really ground out that win.

“The scoreline flatters us a bit but the boys are happy we have got a good four points on the board.

“There is no hiding away from the fact that we were below-par in the past few weeks.

“We analysed Worcester a bit but we focused a lot on ourselves last week.

“Things weren’t pretty out there at times and we looked a bit cagey.

“But the boys really dug in and got the win.”

Stooke is now looking to make his England debut after being named in the 28-man squad to prepare for the autumn Test against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday (3pm).

The forward has signed an undisclosed long-term contract at Bath and reckons he has benefitted from making the move.

“I needed to get out of my comfort zone,” said Stooke on his decision to leave Gloucester.

“I wasn’t happy about being comfortable and basically being bang average.

“I needed to progress my career and coming to Bath I have done that.

“This is the right place for me. I have learnt a lot with the players and coaches around me.

“Massive credit goes to guys like Todd Blackadder (director of rugby) and Toby Booth (forwards coach), they have been absolutely outstanding with me.

“They have given me an opportunity and I can’t thank them enough so when Boothy goes at the end of the season I will be singing his praises.”