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'It will be interesting to see if Eddie thinks he's an international calibre winger'
By PA
Louis Lynagh faces a decisive autumn in his quest to win his first England cap, according to Harlequins boss Tabai Matson.
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Lynagh displayed his power and nose for the line by finishing the first try in Quins’ 35-29 Gallagher Premiership victory over Worcester at Twickenham Stoop as national coach Eddie Jones watched from the stands.
On Tuesday the 20-year-old wing, who is also qualified for Australia and Italy, was included in England’s pre-autumn training squad for the first time and Matson believes November will be make or break for his Test prospects.
“At the end of this camp it will be really interesting to see if Eddie thinks he’s going to be an international calibre winger,” Matson said.
“What you want from your wingers is the ability to finish and he’s been prolific.
“He’s got lots of things to work on because international rugby is another step up again. But every week he just puts up his hand.
“Every time he gets an opportunity he takes it and that shows us a glimpse of what he’s capable of in the future.”
Quins ran in five tries to post their second successive bonus-point victory but after edging Newcastle in round one they once again rode their luck, with their scrum emerging as a key weapon against Worcester.
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“It shows a bit of resolve. To be fair, the Newcastle victory with a bonus point was more than we could have asked for and to scrape through against Worcester…” Matson said.
“In the first half we felt like we had the game under control but you have to respect what Worcester did, they made it really difficult for us.
“We probably didn’t put them away when the penalty count was well in our advantage. There’s always something to work on and we’ve got plenty to work on this week.
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“We came into the game wanting to be more structured against Worcester. We felt that when the game opens up, they’re more dangerous and they showed that.
“Often the scrum keeps you in the game and it definitely did. Joe Marler at times last year was the best player in the Premiership, so I’m really pleased for him leading the scrum.”
Worcester fought back from two 18-point deficits to trail by only four heading into the last 10 minutes and head coach Jonathan Thomas revealed they had been determined to spoil Quins’ Premiership trophy parade at The Stoop.
“We wanted to come here to gatecrash the party,” Thomas said.
“Congratulations to Harlequins for their success last season. It was a great occasion but we wanted to change the narrative of what the day was going to be about and we nearly did that.”
