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Mark Cueto
Arms race: Mark Cueto was a thorn in the side of the French at Twickenham last Sunday, scoring the opening try in the 34-10 win

Wrecking-ball White planning to demolish England, warns Cueto

Chris Jones
19 Mar 2009


Mark Cueto has issued a chilling warning to his England team-mates as they attempt to finish the Six Nations with a morale-boosting victory over Scotland at Twickenham.

Confidence has risen after the 34-10 destruction of a poor French team on Sunday and with Scotland not having won at the home of English rugby for 26 years, the portents are good for Cueto and the rest of the team.

However, lurking in the Scotland pack is Jason White, the man Cueto believes is the hardest tackler he has ever played with at Sale and on Saturday the England wing becomes just another target for rugby's wrecking ball.

Despite making his name as a blindside flanker, White has been pressed into service as a lock and this extra leg work has not diminished his appetite for crashing opponents to the turf.

"I don't know anyone who puts in bigger hits than Jason and while we have Joe Worsley who will chop anyone down, when Jason hits an opponent he smashes them," said Cueto.

"Some of the hits he has made are horrible and you are just thankful he is on your side, which, of course, is not the case on Saturday. I am hoping I can stay well away from him at Twickenham.

"Jason is one of the best back-row forwards in the world with his outstanding work rate, experience and defensive abilities which are second to none.

"His ball carrying has also made him such a massive part of Sale and he will be a huge loss when he leaves to play in France this summer.

"I am not surprised he has done well at lock because he is a dedicated professional and after a couple of injury knocks, he has learned to keep on top of his body. Every time he goes onto the pitch he is a threat, particularly with those big hits in the tackle."

Cueto has rebuilt his England career this season following a 16-month lay-off with a back injury.

Try-scoring success with Sale earned him a recall against Italy last month as he made his first England appearance since the 2007 World Cup Final when his "try" against South Africa was ruled out by the video referee.

A back injury to Harlequins wing Ugo Monye opened the way for Cueto's return and now, with Paul Sackey out of favour, they form the England wing combination against the Scots on Saturday. The five England tries in Sunday's win over France included Cueto's 15th for his country after just 69 seconds. "We showed what we could do against France and now it's a case of keeping that standard going;" he said.

"It was mad to score so early against France because it took 15 minutes before I touched the ball against Italy.We knew we had to excite the crowd."

When the Six Nations is over, Cueto will return to a Sale club who are chasing success before stars such as White (right), Luke McAlister and Sebastien Chabal leave in the summer along with rugby director Philippe Saint-Andre.

Cueto admitted: "The last month has been a nightmare. You want to do well for England but on the other side, I am desperate to help the club because a few more defeats will mean we are out of the Premiership play-offs.

"Come Saturday, it will be completely out of my mind and my total concentration will be on Scotland and avoiding Jason."

Meanwhile, England captain Steve Borthwick's claims that Scotland gloated after beating his side at Murrayfield last year have been dismissed by Frank Hadden.

The Scotland coach, who needs to win on Saturday to keep his job, said: "I really have no idea what he's talking about.

"I won't tell you what other people have been saying behind the scenes.

"If he was being specific about something then maybe we could judge whether we were 'not gracious', or whatever he happens to be referring to."

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