Mallinder: Show your England class against big rival
Northampton Saints boss Jim Mallinder has challenged Jon Clarke to show he is international quality by outshining England's Jamie Noon on Sunday.
Former British Lions star Jeremy Guscott claimed this week that Clarke could be the answer to England's problems in midfield and feels the Saints star is the try-scoring centre the national side has been looking for.
Clarke comes up against Falcons' Noon, who is part of England manager Martin Johnson's Elite Player Squad and is the present incumbent at outside centre having played in the final Test in New Zealand in the summer when the All Blacks triumphed 44-12.
After hearing Guscott's comments, Mallinder says Clarke now has the perfect chance to back them up.
"I think Jon Clarke has got a lot of potential," said Mallinder. "He played really well in pre-season and he played particularly well last weekend against Worcester.
"Now he needs to keep backing that up. He will probably have Jamie Noon against him at Newcastle, who has been there or thereabouts for a long time with England so it will be an interesting test for Jon."
England's record points scorer Jonny Wilkinson is set to return to the Newcastle side in place of 18-year-old Rory Clegg, but Mallinder says his players will be well-prepared for the national icon.
"We look at the opposition quite thoroughly and we look to see who has been playing for them in pre-season and in their first game," said Mallinder.
"They have been boosted by Jonny Wilkinson's return from injury. It was a young lad who was playing at 10 in their first game. They offer different things, they kick off different feet and we got to act accordingly.
"Newcastle didn't lose many games at home last year, they have got a very good home record, so it is going to be a very difficult game."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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