But instead of returning to Kingsholm for pre-season training, Knight jetted off to New Zealand to continue his rugby education alongside All Blacks legend Tana Umaga at Counties Manukau.

The tighthead prop has since been named in the Wider Training Group for the 2010 ITM Cup and impressed on his debut against Auckland – coming off the bench at half-time to help secure a 33-33 draw despite his side trailing 33-14 when he entered the fray.

And with New Zealand known for setting the standard on a rugby pitch, Knight insists he can’t wait to show what he can do in a Cherry & Whites shirt when he returns in November.

“Everything in New Zealand is going really well and I have enjoyed every minute of it so far,” he said.

“I have been playing a good level of competitive rugby every week and have learnt a lot about my game.

“I hadn’t even been home in four months – from the Under-20 World Cup when Gloucester told me about the opportunity and I went straight to New Zealand from Argentina.

“So it has also helped me grow as a person and not just a rugby player as I have never been away from home for this amount of time so I have become more independent as I have had to fend for myself.

“And the style of rugby here is totally different and it has really helped to develop my game because we do a lot more skills-related work and work with the ball – even the forwards.

“I have worked on my ball handling a fair amount and that has improved a great deal which is good – so when I come back I think people will see me with the ball in hand a lot more. I’d like to develop this style over my career.”