A baby rhino in ballet shoes, Tuipulotu already on England radar

LONDON : England coach Steve Borthwick names his Six Nations squad on Tuesday and although it is a long shot for Kepu Tuipulotu to be included it surely won't be long until the 19-year-old takes the next step on his path to becoming the country's next hooker.

Borthwick was at Northampton to see Tuipulotu make his Premiership debut for Bath off the bench for the final nine minutes on Sunday, but the coach already knew all about him having invited the teenager to England's Pennyhill Park training centre to get a feel of the senior set-up last Autumn.

Despite captaining England's under-18s, Tuipulotu also qualifies for Wales and Tonga and it would be a huge blunder, albeit unlikely, if the RFU let him to slip through their net.

The son of former Tonga scrumhalf Sione, Tuipulotu was born in Pontypool, his sister Sisilia is a Welsh international and cousin Carwyn plays in Wales for the Scarlets.

He attended Harrow School and starred at the London Irish Academy, helping them win the 2023 under-18s national championship.

Jack Pattinson, head of the Academy at the time but now with Saracens, said he recognised he was dealing with something special from the off.

"He was an under-14 and I genuinely remember him catching the eye within 5-10 minutes, a feeling that 'this guy is so skilful,' Pattinson told Reuters.

"We put him straight into the under-15s, literally after one night, which is pretty rare, and I remember thinking to myself, 'I don't know how I make this guy technically more competent, he ticks so many of the boxes that you try to coach.'

"His timing, his movement and around the ball - he was just so dominant. That sticks with you because 99 per cent of the time, everyone needs help with some sort of skill, but he was just so