For a club sitting bottom of the Premiership this is proving a surprisingly satisfying few weeks for the coaches and players of Newcastle. In the past month in Europe they have beaten two French giants, Toulon and Montpellier, and on Saturday one of their favourite sons is finally set to run out at Twickenham as an England Test starter.
Mark Wilson has four caps but only one was as a starting XV member and none have come on home soil. It makes his unexpected selection at No 8 against a strong Springbok side a significant moment, both personally and for everyone connected with Newcastle. English forward play is always better for a blast of northern soul.
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The 29-year-old Wilson, who hails from the Lake District and now lives in Blaydon, has huge boots to fill in the absence of the injured Billy Vunipola but his club director of rugby, Dean Richards, has long believed his man should be ranked above of some of his southern-based rivals. If he can bring his normal work rate and customary enthusiasm for tackling, Wilson may yet prove hard to drop even when others are back fit.
Eddie Jones, for one, believes Wilson is equipped to cope just fine with the pressure, despite having played the majority of his recent rugby at blindside flanker. “He’s played a little bit at No 8 and he’s a good, tough bugger,” the England coach said approvingly.
“He’s hard over the ball and, as we’ve seen, the difference between the level of contest in international rugby and domestic rugby is enormous. That’s why we’ve got two people who can go hard in that area – Tom Curry and him.”
Jones’s pre-match instructions have been concise and simple – “he has to play his role in making the team win, that’s the only thing he has to do” – and Wilson is visibly looking forward to the highest-profile day of his career.
“Playing at Twickenham and getting a home cap is something I am really excited about and very proud to be part of. A dream come true? Absolutely. I set out in my career to play No 8 and to have this opportunity is going to be a special occasion.”
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The Montpellier game was not a bad warm-up – “they actually had quite a lot of South Africans in that team as well” – and his chats with Richards, a man who knows a fair amount about playing No 8 for England, have also prepared him well.
“I’ve been working with Dean a long time now. He’s always making sure, if I have to shift across to No 8, that I still have those skills in the locker. Obviously things have changed a bit from when he used to play there – he still talks about stamping on Martin Johnson’s calves! Those days are gone but he’s great to speak to. I like to pride myself on my energy on both sides of the ball and my work ethic. Hopefully I can bring plenty of that at the weekend.”
Brad Shields, the 20-year-old Curry and Wilson will certainly find themselves on the frontline defensively, particularly if a big, bruising Springbok pack gain some momentum and start to flex their muscles.
As a young man Wilson used to admire Lawrence Dallaglio and Nick Easter and, whatever the outcome, he will not be shying away from the challenge.
“You know exactly what the South Africa team are going to bring: a lot of physicality. But we’ve got different strengths and different qualities. It’ll be an interesting matchup.”