Oxfordshire rugby star Will Matthews has signed a two-year deal with London Wasps after breaking into their first team this season.

The 25-year-old flanker, who comes from Brize Norton, joined Wasps on an academy contract last summer and and has gone on to make 18 first-team appearances.

Matthews’s contract caps a real turnaround in the former Gloucester player’s career after a knee injury checked his progress.

He told Wasps’ website: “Two years, I couldn’t be happier with it.

“It has been a long process coming from Blackheath in National 2 last year and working hard with the academy as part of the first team this year.

“I have been given my chances and feel that I have taken them when they have come.”

Matthews had a lot of players ahead of him at the start of the campaign, including former France legend Serge Betsen.

But he kept battling and made his first Guinness Premiership start against Newcastle in January.

He said: “People question the game time you will get at a club like Wasps, but at the same time you are going to learn a lot from these players.”

Matthews has also benefited from a long-term injury to Engand flanker Tom Rees.

He said: “This year his misfortune has given me an opportunity.

“I have just taken every game as it comes.”

Wasps’ director of rugby Tony Hanks said: “Will has overcome serious injuries to play a number of games and make a real contribution.

“He is yet another player who has flourished in our academy set-up, gaining a senior contract along with the likes of Tom Lindsay and (former Chinnor prop) Bob Baker.”