Six Nations: White delighted to get England chance

Julian White has played second fiddle to England prop Phil Vickery this season but the Saracens tight-head admitted: ‘‘I’ve got no argument with that at all.’’

White though, will take his turn in the spotlight on Saturday when England resume their Six Nations campaign after a five-week gap against France at Twickenham.

It will be a first Six Nations start for the 27-year-old Devonian, whose four previous caps were collected during three England appointments with South Africa last year and an autumn victory over Argentina.

White has waited patiently for this opportunity, which arrived when Vickery was advised to rest a neck complaint.

But Vickery’s outstanding England form this season means that White has got his hands full and he knows it.

‘‘Phil has been performing outstandingly well, both as a scrummager and with ball in hand,’’ he said.

‘‘I’ve got no argument with that at all, and I wasn’t really expecting this opportunity, but now that it has arrived then I have got to try and take it.

‘‘I played half a game in each of the Tests against Argentina and South Africa before Christmas, so my appearances have been in small blocks of games, rather than over a long period.

‘‘I was on the bench against Wales in February, then played for the A’s against Italy before suffering a minor back problem,’’ he added, as if to confirm his somewhat staccato progress.

White though, could be just one big performance away from clinching a place on this summer’s Lions tour to Australia, joining front-row certainty Vickery Down Under, and he couldn’t have hoped for a better testing ground than Twickenham this weekend, when White will lock horns with highly-rated Stade Francais loose-head Sylvain Marconnet.

‘‘Stade Francais possess one of the strongest scrums in French rugby, and both their props will be playing on Saturday,’’ he added.

‘‘The French are very similar to the Argentinians in the way they scrummage - it is a very big part of their game - and I am under no illusions about how tough it is going to be.’’

White equipped himself efficiently in South Africa last summer, starting both Tests during a drawn series after Vickery pulled out from the trip because of a shoulder injury.

And that experience should serve him well when more than 70,000 people pack into Twickenham this weekend as Six Nations titleholders England target a fourth successive championship win.

‘‘What happened on the South African tour was a bit of a shock. I thought I was going to go out there and only play in the midweek games, but I ended up playing in both Tests,’’ he recalled.

‘‘To gain my first cap out there was brilliant.

‘‘The initial five or 10 minutes in Pretoria (first Test) was so quick, that I didn’t know what had hit me to be honest.

‘‘But although the international game is faster, you soon settle into it. The adrenaline is flowing that much faster as well.’’

By the time England conclude their Six Nations programme - remaining opponents Ireland won’t be met till the autumn - White could find himself once again shadowing Vickery.

But while the current foot-and-mouth epidemic is a source of frustration to Six Nations players and officials, White, perhaps more than most, understands why some sporting events have taken a back seat.

He worked on farms in south-west England and New Zealand before his rugby career took off, and fully understands the extent of this crisis.

The postponed matches have made things a little bit awkward, but it is nothing compared to what the farming community is experiencing at the moment,’’ he added.