England v Scotland: Wilson ready for home nation

The highly-rated 18-year-old prop was born in Melrose and developed through the Northumberland ranks as his hometown of Eyemouth, on the Berwickshire coast, lacked a rugby club. His mother was born in Berwick, the nearest major hospital to the fishing town, and so he qualified for England and has made a swift progression from Newcastle’s academy to under-20 status.

Growing to 6ft 2in and now almost 19 stones, Wilson moved from loosehead to tighthead, a position ironically in which Scotland have been struggling to create depth in recent years, and the former Scottish youth hammer champion makes his first appearance in the England under-20s squad this evening.

Proud of his Eyemouth roots – his framed England U18 jersey hangs in a corridor of the new high school – Wilson will not become tied to England until he plays for the Saxons, at the next level. But, having come through the English system, he feels owes the coaches by continuing his progress to the top.

Speaking recently, he said: “Having been involved in the Falcons set-up and the support I’ve had I have enjoyed playing for England. I am looking forward to being part of the England U20s set-up this year and then, hopefully, going on to play internationally.”

He is one of eight newcomers on the bench with another four uncapped players in the starting line-up, while, showing similar experience, Scotland have ten players remaining from last season, led by 18-year-old captain Jonny Gray.

They may have lost Wilson to the cause, but with Sean Lineen now head coach and also responsible for improving Scotland’s worldwide scouting network the coaches again have Perpignan’s former Stirling lock Adam Sinclair, Sale flanker Will Bordill and Mark Bennett from Clermont, the centre currently on loan at Glasgow.

Lineen said: “It’s been a really exciting process working with a group of young players who are willing to learn and want to do something special in the Six Nations and IRB Junior World Championship. We’ve had four camps and every single player has worked hard, so we’re going down there to give an outstanding performance. We’re really looking forward, with huge anticipation to the game, so we can see what we can do and hopefully surprise people.”

England U20

15 A Watson

14 J Arnott

13 H Sloan

12 S Hill

11 B Howard

10 H Slade

9 A Day

1 L Cowan-Dickie

2 M Crumpton

3 K Sinckler

4 E Stooke

5 D Barrow

6 R Moriarty

7 J Conlon

8 J Clifford (capt)

Subs

16 D Herriott

17 D Hobbs-Awoyemi

18 S Wilson

19 T Jubb

20 G Jones

21 N Fowles

22 W Hooley

23 M Jennings

Scotland U20

15 K Buchan

14 D Hoyland

13 C Auld

12 M Bennett

11 R Hughes

10 T Allan

9 S Hidalgo-Clyne

1 J Bhatti

2 R Anderson

3 D Rae

4 J Gray (capt)

5 A Sinclair

6 R Leishman

7 W Bordill

8 A Ashe

Subs

16 C Black

17 S Muir

18 P Cringle

19 C Turner

20 T Spinks

21 A Price

22 A Hagart

23 R Fergusson