England ready to make the volcano blow

Head coach Brian Ashton is understood to be giving serious consideration to picking the Tongan 'Volcano' among the 32 to be named tomorrow for the tournament, which starts against Wales at Twickenham on February 2.

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Fear and dread: Vainikolo has awesome power

The dreadlocked heavyweight wing may still be a novice in union terms but England clearly intend to unleash his raw power at some stage during the championship, which ends in mid-March.

Vainikolo's putative switch of international allegiance makes his candidacy for immediate recognition all the more unusual.

He last played Test rugby as recently as 18 months ago, for New Zealand's rugby league side against Great Britain at St Helens, then switched codes at the end of the following season. In spite of that, he qualifies for England via the three-year residency rule.

Curiously, his 12 Test matches for the Kiwis do not affect his eligibility. Under International Board rules, a player can play league for one country and union for another.

Henry Paul's switch from the all black of his native New Zealand to the all white of the then World Cup holders set the precedent in English terms more than three years ago.

Like Paul, 28-year-old Vainikolo has followed the same path across the rugby divide from the Bradford Bulls to Gloucester, leaving behind a phenomenal record of 148 tries in 151 matches.

At 6ft 2in and more than 17st, he provides a physical presence unmatched by any international wing in Britain and power in the modern game has become a priceless commodity, as he showed by touching down five times on his debut at Leeds last September.

The one complication is over his availability. After returning to New Zealand for a family bereavement before Christmas, Vainikolo is back there on compassionate leave attending to another family emergency. Gloucester do not expect him to be back for Saturday's European Cup tie against the Ospreys in Swansea.

That could mean a reprieve for Mark Cueto among a batch of wings headed by Paul Sackey and David Strettle. With Iain Balshaw presenting strong claims as a wing-cum-full back, Josh Lewsey is the one most likely to suffer from the competition.

Meanwhile, England are being urged to retire another of their 'dinosaurs' and start the post-World Cup evolution by picking an Australian hooker from Darwin. David Paice, the boy from the outback whom London Irish discovered while on holiday in Britain five years ago, has emerged as a formidable threat to Mark Regan's kingdom.

Irish director of rugby Brian Smith said: 'They either stick with the dinosaurs or give the young blokes a go. There are a few old dogs hanging in there but if they want to usher in a new era of attacking English rugby, Paice has to be blooded.

'They cannot afford to miss this opportunity. Mark Regan has done a great job but if they don't pick David, then what kind of signal does that send out? What would that say about where English rugby is going? With Rob Andrew at the helm, those dinosaur selections cannot continue.'

Regan, 36 later this month, has refused to take the easy way out by joining Jason Robinson, Mike Catt and Lawrence Dallaglio in Test retirement. Instead, with typical defiance, he fights on in the hope of withstanding the double challenge posed by Paice and Bath's Lee Mears, whose patience after long service on the bench deserves to be rewarded.

Paice, 24, who has the statistical evidence to reinforce claims to being the best line-out thrower in the Premiership, has fallen into England's lap thanks to London Irish's foresight.

Smith said: 'He was over here on holiday and, luckily, one of his mates happened to be playing for our academy team at the time. We then gave David a run in the side and everyone said: "Wow! Who the hell is this?" He's been with us ever since.'

Bath say they have no doubts about Olly Barkley's readiness for an international return despite having to re-appear in court the morning after the Italy match next month in connection with a charge of causing actual bodily harm, which he denies.

Bath head coach Steve Meehan said: 'Olly has put those things to one side and his performances for the club have been outstanding since his return from the World Cup. His form this season has been better than it was last season, which is saying something.'