JOE Marchant had barely picked up a ball when Will Greenwood man-hugged Jonny Wilkinson and the pair leapt around Sydney celebrating English rugby's greatest moment.
Marchant, just seven at the time, has since watched the iconic scene countless times on TV as he started to dream of emulating Greenwood's achievements for club and country.
Harlequins boss Paul Gustard certainly believes his prolific young try scorer has the talent to take the necessary leap onto the same international stage having recently compared him to Greenwood due to his useful habit of “being in the right place at the right time” on the field.
And Marchant, who has amassed ten Premiership tries in Quins' resurgence as a potential top four side, would relish a one-to-one with Greenwood.
Marchant, 22, told TRP: “I've not yet had the chance to meet Will but it would be cool to do so down the line. He was playing for England when I was just thinking about starting to play the game. He had an incredible international career and he's a Quins legend too.
“It's always nice getting plaudits and to be compared to someone like Will. I've been working hard on trying to read the game better and knowing where to get on the end of the moves. It is about being in the right place at the right time, working hard and getting those points to keep us in the play-off race.
“I've been getting on the end of things but if it's not me scoring it's putting the next guy over the line. I don't think I've really made one for myself – the boys have been putting kicks through and I've just been doing the easy part of being there to finish them off.”
Winchester lad Marchant has been in Eddie Jones' sights for some time, having been included in a couple of senior squad training sessions after working his way through the U18 and U20 ranks.
If he continues his excellent try scoring exploits the centre hopes to eventually earn a shot at a possible first Test cap.
He insists: “The dream is to play for England and if things go well at Quins I might get the chance. Eddie didn't say a lot to me in the autumn, just to keep playing well for my club and get my hands on the ball.”
Quins' remain firmly within the Premiership play-off picture regardless of their five-game winning streak coming to an end against Gloucester and then losing to Saracens last weekend.
Marchant insists the arrival of Gustard as head of rugby has been the real difference this season.
He insists: “When he came in it was first about improving our fitness levels and defence. Our defence was strong at the start of the season and it was a case of our attack needing to catch up a bit and it did.
“We can still improve and if we want to be a top four team, and possibly win the Premiership, we have to be best at both those things.”
