Billy Twelvetrees is not your average name, nor is he your average player. Not since Meadowlark Lemon was doing his thing for the Harlem Globetrotters in the 1970s has there been a sportsman for whom casual fans feel such instinctive warmth. Even complete strangers want to be his blood relations. "I've had a few letters since my name's been in the newspapers. One claimed to be Twelve-Tree with a hyphen, another said he was called Eighteen Bushes. I think that might have been a piss-take."

More of a tall story than the 23-year-old Twelvetrees being the son of a tree surgeon who sells woodburning stoves? Gloriously, this turns out to be absolutely true. As yet the family have yet to relocate to Sevenoaks or Woodstock – Billy and his three brothers grew up in Wisborough Green in West Sussex – but they have been redoubling their efforts to trace the origins of their rare surname. "My dad and uncle have both tried to do a family tree but they still haven't unearthed the source of it. They've found a 'Twelvetree' but no Twelvetrees related to us. There is a Dr Twelvetrees in South America somewhere and a few in Scotland but we can only properly trace our family tree back a couple of generations. Maybe it was 'Trees' and someone decided: 'We live in 12.'"

The long-suffering Twelvetrees, either way, has taken delivery of the game's best nickname, having been christened "36" by his Irish captain, Geordan Murphy, ("cos twelve trees makes ...") in his early days at Welford Road. You can be sure one or two of the Irish Wolfhounds team set to face England Saxons in Exeter will appreciate the joke. "It does follow me around," sighs the blond centre, a tad wearily. There are definitely moments when life as plain old Billy Jones would be far simpler.

Yet the real beauty of Twelvetrees is neither his surname nor the flaxen locks reminiscent of Lewis Moody or a young Roger Daltrey. English rugby is far from overpopulated with ball-playing inside centres with pace, strength, excellent distribution skills and a kick like a grumpy mule. Twelvetrees, along with many others, did not have his greatest night as a stand-in 10 when Leicester were humped by Ulster in Belfast this month but there is no disputing he offers something intriguingly different. "The creative side of the game is what I've always relished," he says. "I've always tried to do things … it's been my philosophy whether I was playing football, cricket or rugby. I've always tried the imaginative stuff, the stuff that will make the difference. Sometimes I've tried to do too much and looked a bit of an idiot."

Which cuts straight to the still-beating heart of Billy's recent decision to sign to play for Gloucester next season. It has gone down like a lead balloon in Leicester – "If he does not want to stay and fight for his spot, that is disappointing," sniffed Richard Cockerill, his director of rugby – but Twelvetrees never entirely fitted the Tigers' mould from the outset. When he arrived from Bedford he was, by his own admission, a free spirit who lacked the they-shall-not-pass mentality which sustains English rugby's most intense club. "At Bedford I'd chuck passes out wide which maybe wouldn't go to hand but you could get away with it. You could miss a tackle and it wouldn't matter. When I got to Leicester those things got highlighted, rightly so. You're not going to make it as a player if you don't have the fundamental basics."

Even when Twelvetrees made one of the more striking European club debuts, starring in a 32-32 draw against the Ospreys in October 2009, his coaches were swift to stress his tackling was not good enough. Despite having scored 29 points on two occasions against Wasps this season, he still feels he is not entirely trusted. "I just felt I wasn't getting the opportunity to play 12 as much as I'd like to. I spoke to [Gloucester's] Bryan Redpath and liked his philosophy. I also felt I'd get more opportunity to play 12 for Gloucester. It's nothing against the way Leicester do things, it's just my personal preference. Twelve is the position in which I feel most comfortable and where I've always had my best games, from mini-rugby upwards."

For those, like Cockerill, who believe Leicester players should always put the club before personal advancement, this cuts precious little ice. Twelvetrees is unrepentant. "It's always interesting to hear what Cockers says. In the heat of the moment maybe there was a bit of miscommunication but there's a difference between wanting to play for Leicester and actually doing it. Speak to everyone at Leicester ... there are a lot of frustrations there. I wanted to stay but I wasn't going to get the opportunities I'll hopefully have with Gloucester. I asked [Leicester] if I'd be playing and didn't get the answer I wanted."

The Tigers' loss promises to be a significant Cherry and White gain. He and his Saxons team-mate Freddie Burns both have an eye for adventure and the 6ft 3in, 16st Twelvetrees should also complement the rapidly emerging Henry Trinder and Jonny May. His father, Kev, was more of a motocross fan but it was his mother, Bev, who shaped his approach to rugby. "My mum has always had a very positive outlook. She'd say: 'You're good enough, don't think about it, just do it.' As a result it's always been a case of: 'If in doubt, back yourself.' In football I'd want to play central midfield so I could do everything. In cricket I'd want to be the best batter and the best bowler. Whatever I've done I've always wanted to nail it." All that remains is to make a name for himself at the top level. "For the sake of people who have put faith in me, I now need to progress a bit further. I also need to prove to myself I can make that step up." If England's 2015 coaches want to play it fast and smart, Billy has a big future.

England Saxons (to play Ireland Wolfhounds at Sandy Park, Exeter on Saturday, 5pm) D Armitage (London Irish); U Monye, M Hopper (both Harlequins), B Twelvetrees (Leicester Tigers), M Banahan (Bath); F Burns (Gloucester), B Spencer (Saracens); M Mullan (Worcester Warriors), J Gray (Harlequins), P Doran-Jones (Northampton Saints), M Garvey (London Irish), G Robson (Harlequins), J Gaskell (Sale Sharks, capt), A Saull (Saracens), T Waldrom (Leicester Tigers) Replacements C Brooker (Harlequins), R Harden (Gloucester), K Myall (Sale Sharks), T Johnson (Exeter Chiefs), P Hodgson (London Irish), R Lamb (Northampton Saints), J May (Gloucester).

Ireland Wolfhounds G Duffy (Connacht); D Kearney (Leinster), E O'Malley (both Leinster), N Spence (Ulster), S Zebo; I Keatley (both Munster), I Boss (Leinster); B Wilkinson (Connacht), D Varley, S Archer (both Munster), D Tuohy (Ulster), M McCarthy (Connacht), J Muldoon (Connacht), C Henry (Ulster, capt), R Ruddock (Leinster) Replacements M Sherry (Munster), R Loughney (Connacht), D Toner, K McLaughlin (both Leinster), T O'Leary (Munster), I Madigan (Leinster), D Hurley (Munster)