FRASER Dingwall is set on helping Northampton finish the season on a high and putting himself in contention for England’s summer tour to Japan and New Zealand.
The 24-year old centre made his Test debut this year at the 10th time of asking having been in nine previous squads without making it on to the field.
He made his bow against Italy in Rome and scored a try against Wales at Twickenham in the following round before making way when Ollie Lawrence returned from injury.
“I loved my time with England, even when I was not playing, and it was a really positive experience,” said Dingwall, who played at 12 for England but operates mostly at 13 for the Saints.
“I enjoyed being part of a group that was trying to evolve and go to a different place in terms of the rugby played. We saw in a couple of performances at the end where the group is wanting to go and we can achieve that.
“I feel honoured and fortunate to have played and I think it made me a better player in terms of understanding the game and the extremes of pressure that is Test rugby. It inspired me to kick on and made me crave more of it which means perfor ming every week for Northampton.”
Dingwall, who has been at Northampton since he was 13 and signed a contract extension at the start of the year, was first called into the England squad for the 2020 Six Nations having captained Scotland at Under-18 level. He reckons the wait for his first cap was worth it.
“It is different in terms of the scrutiny you are under, the intensity of the games and the number of people watching, but you naturally adapt and it comes to you quickly,” he said. “You do not fear it and it is enjoyable. I would love to do it again.”
Dingwall was not involved in the last three matches against Scotland, Ireland and France. He was not so much dropped after impressing in his two outings as replaced by Lawrence who would likely have started against Italy had he been fit and Dingwall had a debrief with head coach Steve Borthwick at the end of the tour nament.
“Steve was really positive,” said Dingwall. “All the feedback was. It was not so much that I was not playing well but how Ollie was back and he was the first choice. Once you hear that it is easier to live with. I am slightly different to Ollie and the other centres in the group and I am working on parts of my game.”
An irony of the last couple of months was that a former Leicester head coach was
