Seb Atkinson has been an England international for barely a year, but instead of settling into providing an answer to the running sore of sorting out the nation’s No 12 jersey, he is having to stomach a South African turning up to take it off him.
Sportspeople are, we are told, always accepting of the natural pecking order, with top ex-players Joe Marler and Lawrence Dallaglio telling this paper it’s fine for Benhard Janse van Rensburg to have qualified for England on residency this week, and Atkinson of Gloucester will just have to fight for his place.
Atkinson made his own Test debut in Argentina last summer, but the evidence of this big win is the newcomer Janse van Rensburg is more likely to start over there next Saturday in England’s final Test of a rollercoaster season, in Santiago del Estero.
And that would be a big indicator of England’s thinking for the World Cup next year.
How has Atkinson fared as England No 12?
