England v Italy: Northampton’s Fraser Dingwall says Test return alongside club-mates ‘special’
Despite playing an influential role in Northampton’s success, Dante Wall’s path to international level remains even more difficult.
Born in the heart of Cambridge, he played for Scotland through his father’s legacy and then represented England under the age of 20.
Head coach Steve Borthwick’s former Eddie Jones called the senior team but attended 10 training camps without winning the senior hat.
Last year, he opposed Roma’s Azzurri, who played his first match against Wales the following week, but Dingwall said he wanted to make up for the lost time and had to wait more than a year to get his third hat.
“Last year was incredible,” he added. “This is the first time I’ve been to the team and around, but never managed to play.
“I had some really good experiences in beating Italy and Wales, but then Oli (Lawrence) is back.
“The feedback I got at the time was that I played very well, but both starters were available at the time.
“You can accept that because of the coach’s preference, and I’m glad I’ve been able to achieve my dream and make a good shot for it.
“But since then, I’ve been trying to try to go back as fast as I could, but it’s been tracking this moment.”
Dingwall will hope to prove a point and strengthen an England offense, which has been criticized for lack of strikers despite streaks in France and Scotland.
After Italy arrives in London France’s 73-24 defeatDante Wall said the injured Azzurri will be confident to make history in England they have never beaten.
He added: “Usually, when the results are big against a team, they tend to respond.”
“There is no doubt that Italy is still a very good team.
“They will be disappointed with the French game, but they have performed enough in previous games to show that they have a lot of talent and some dangerous people.
“This is not an old game (opposite Italy), it’s the challenge we’re looking forward to.”
