Six Nations: Duncombe quick to prove his worth

Rookie scrum-half Nick Duncombe could become a senior England international on Saturday - less than two years after breaking his neck.

Just 264 minutes of first-team rugby with Harlequins this season proved enough to convince Clive Woodward that Duncombe warranted a place on the bench for England’s Lloyds TSB Six Nations Championship opener against Scotland.

The 20-year-old’s remarkable elevation will see him on Murrayfield duty as cover for Kyran Bracken, despite making only three Quins starts in three different competitions this month - Munster (Heineken Cup), Leicester (Powergen Cup) and Northampton (Premiership) - plus a European second-half substitute’s appearance against Bridgend.

But it might have been a totally different story, given the frightening accident he suffered in April 2000.

Duncombe, educated at the same High Wycombe school as Matt Dawson, was playing for England under-18s against their Welsh counterparts in Chester when disaster struck.

‘‘I made a cover tackle, but then knew straightaway that something fairly serious had happened,’’ he said.

‘‘I felt a pins and needles sensation all over, and I was taken to hospital, initially in Chester and then on to an orthopaedic unit in Oswestry.

‘‘I had broken my neck. Fortunately, it wasn’t life-threatening, but it was certainly walk-threatening for a while. I had an operation, and was in hospital for about a month, but I recovered fairly well from it to be honest.

‘‘I didn’t actually damage my spinal cord, but I bruised it, and an operation was required,’’ Duncombe added.

‘‘The surgeons said everything had gone to plan, and I went back up there for a review after three months. As long as the medics gave me the all-clear, then I wanted to play again.’’

Duncombe even had a contingency plan in place a business management course at the University of Westminster if rugby was ruled out.

Fortunately though, it was not, and the rest, as they say, is history.

After a year out of the game recuperating and regaining full fitness, Duncombe returned, and it was no low-key comeback either.

England selected him for the World Cup under-19 tournament in Chile, where he returned against France, and then he gained a contract with Quins, initially as third-choice number nine behind Matt Powell and Scott Bemand.

‘‘My main ambition this season was to play Premiership rugby, look to get involved with the England under-21s and then take things from there,’’ he revealed.

‘‘So you could say that all this has come as something of a surprise, but I am looking forward to this week.

‘‘I have felt really at home in the Premiership, and if the chance arises with England next Saturday, I hope I can get on and enjoy it.’’

With Dawson currently injured and the England coaching staff wanting Austin Healey - their shadow scrum-half for the autumn Tests - to keep his wing role against Scotland, rather than switch positions if Bracken wad forced off, Woodward had no hesitation in calling up Duncombe.

‘‘Nick is currently first-choice at Quins,’’ Woodward said. ‘‘I watched him play against both Leicester and Northampton, and he has been selected on merit.’’