Flanker Mark Wilson insists he feels he doesn’t need to prove what he is capable of ahead of his Six Nations debut.

Cumbrian Wilson will start for England against defending champions Ireland today (4.45pm kick-off). The 29-year-old, who began his junior rugby career in Penrith, will be looking to continue his impressive form from the November internationals which saw him win a Fans’ Player of the Series vote.

“I don’t feel I need to prove to people what I’m capable of. I just need to keep continuing what I’ve been doing over the past years and look to learn and improve,” Wilson said. “I want to keep progressing and that’s my focus, getting better.”

Wilson also signed a new four-year deal with Newcastle Falcons last month after their success last year.

He said: “2018 was a great year for Newcastle, to get into that top four after spending a few years down the bottom of the league was great, and to have a taste of that semi-final play-off spot was something I really enjoyed and loved being part of.”

The Kendal-born man also told the story of how one of his former teachers helped to first get him into rugby.

He told England Rugby’s website: “I only started the sport at secondary school at the age of 12.

“I played a lot of football as a youngster and, when I first got to school, there was a teacher at Kirkbie Kendal called Dean Barker who made me see my potential as a rugby player and he got me involved in the sport. I ended up taking it quite seriously and, early on, I would say he was a driving force in that.

"Dean, who was head of PE, was a big believer in what I was doing and he got in touch with Newcastle and said, ‘Look, I’ve got a lad who is mad keen, loves rugby and has got physical potential, so can you come and have a look at him?’. I owe him a lot.

"I’ve always wanted to please him and I’m very grateful for what he’s done for me.

"John Fletcher was the academy manager at the time and he invited me to join their junior development programme when I was 14 and I’ve been there ever since.”

He added: “While things happened relatively late for me internationally, one of the big things I did when I was 15 or 16 was sit down and set out where I wanted to be in the future so I set some goals.

"A key thing I got told was things don’t just happen for everyone straight away, especially in rugby, people develop at different times and that was the case for me. I started to grow my game when I began playing senior rugby at Newcastle.

"I had a goal to be a professional rugby player by 25 and I did it by 20. 

"That dream of playing for England was always there.”