Meet England's great 'white' hope for the Six Nations - the non-English 'Volcano'

There is a small glitch. Lesley "The Volcano" Vainikolo is not actually English.

The New Zealander moved to Britain only six years ago and has played in only nine rugby union matches.

But that did not stop England coach Brian Ashton waxing lyrical about the kiwi's ability to nail England's success in the championship, which kicks off next month.

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The Tonga-born powerhouse - who has been called the new Jonah Lomu - was unveiled yesterday as the linchpin in the nation's 32-man team.

Ashton gushed: "I first saw him about five years ago playing rugby league and there was a bit of a wow factor then. He is different - we have never seen an England winger like him, that's for sure.

"He has got an X-factor and players with an X-factor in the international game are pretty important.

"As we learned in the World Cup there is no substitute for experience in some areas of the team, but in international rugby you cannot stand still."

Uncapped Vainikolo, 28, follows in the footsteps of fellow New Zealander Henry Paul, who also made the leap from rugby league to rugby union and was selected for the England squad after only one game.

Vainikolo is a New Zealand national with no British grandparents or parents. He earned his place on the English side after being resident in the country for more than three years - a minimum set by the rugby union board. He has applied for a British passport.

He is one of a number of overseas players to bolster England's hopes in recent years.

South African prop Matt Stevens, 25, was recruited by Bath in 2002 and three years later found himself in the Six Nations line-up.

Fellow South African Mike Catt, 36, became the oldest player in a World Cup final in 2003 after playing in three consecutive championships. Like 33-year-old forward Paul, Vainikolo first played for Bradford Bulls rugby league side before switching to Gloucester's rugby union squad.

He signed up last September - but has already become the Premiership's top try scorer this season. His surprise England selection came at the expense of homegrown talent such as Josh Lewsey, Dan Hipkiss and James Simpson-Daniel.

Any questions about Vainikolo's ability to switch disciplines vanished in his first 80 minutes on the pitch with Gloucester during which he scored five tries. After eight more games, Ashton felt he had seen enough to include him in the Six Nations line-up.

He said: "He is a try scorer, a threat all over the field and pretty quick as well - but he is not only your typical powerhouse winger.

"He is intelligent as well. I have seen him play centre and he is a pretty good all-round package."

There were fears a knee injury Vainikolo suffered three years ago could affect his performance - but they were dismissed by Ashton.

A devout Christian, Vainikolo moved to the UK in 2002 to play for the Bradford league side. His call-up came as 17 of the 22 who lost to South Africa in the World Cup last October made it into the Six Nations squad. World Cup captain Phil Vickery will remain as skipper.

Yesterday Vainikolo was back in his New Zealand after a death in the family and was not due to return to the UK until next week.

It was not clear whether he would be playing in the opening game against Wales on February 2 at Twickenham.