Bristol coach Richard Hill has tipped the club's scrum-half Shaun Perry to star for England if he gets the nod for the two-Test summer tour to Australia. Hill told BBC Sport: "I watched him for England A against Ireland A and he was one of the few players who stood out.
"He was marvellous in the first 40, made lots of breaks, his defence was strong and he took on the captaincy.
"That England A level's not far off full international level so there's no reason why he can't make the jump."
England's dismal Six Nations has led to calls for head coach Andy Robinson to overhaul his squad and the scrum-half berth has come under scrutiny with Harry Ellis not convincing in the role and Matt Dawson announcing his retirement.
Perry could be the man to profit down under in June.
The 27-year-old has enjoyed an amazing rise up rugby's ranks in the past 12 months.
This time last year he was playing for Coventry and working as a plate welder, but after just 11 games in the top flight following his move to the west country he had won A level honours and was soon promoted to skipper.
 | SUMMER TOUR 1st Test v Australia
Sunday 11 June - Sydney 2nd Test v Australia
Saturday 17 June - Melbourne |
Now the next step awaits.
Hill, a former Bath and England number nine and captain, knows what is needed and believes Perry has what it takes.
"He's a good quality all-round scrum-half and there aren't many with the all-round skills he's got," he added.
"He's big and powerful, quick, tackles hard, has a great pass, one hell of a boot and he can run a game well, so every apsect is there."
That was evident in Perry's last match when Bristol beat Gloucester 20-15 at Kingsholm.
The home side came out of the blocks fast and were seven points to the good in a matter of minutes.
However, slowly but surely Bristol clawed their way back into the match with Perry a calming presence at the hub of their plans.
His service from the base of the scrum was reliable and fast - something Ellis has been roundly criticised for lacking.
Fly-half Jason Strange never needed to stretch high and expose himself to thumping tackles or run the risk of knocking-on as he bent to pick a pass off his boot straps as his half-back partner consistently gave him the ball in the right spot.
And Perry's breaks had more fizz than international veteran Dawson.
|  Shaun's come into a side where right from the word go the pressure was on us massively because we'd come up from Division One |
He had the vision to score down the blindside from an attacking scrum as well as wreaking havoc in the home defence with a quick tap and go from deep in his own half that resulted in Brian Lima's match-winning try.
Hill admits he has been pleasantly surprised by how well Perry has adapted to life in the top-flight.
"I've been surprised as it's normally a mental thing," he added.
"When I first came into the Bath side they were very, very strong and I played with internationals in the back-row, the forwards and the backs so I'd go in, do the basics and get told what to do.
"But Shaun's come into a side where right from the word go the pressure was on us massively because we'd come up from Division One.
"He has had to roll his sleeves up and work very hard and he has played very well under the circumstances.
"We've been up against it at times, had some tough games and had to battle hard, but he's come through and done well."
England have been charting Perry's progress since January and it might just be that in June he takes that next step.
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
