LONG READ Archie McParland: 'I'm happy at Saints, it's a great club, but we'll see what happens'

Steve Borthwick will continue his early-season ward rounds this weekend, checking in on his England incumbents and scouting for any worthwhile additions to his squad ahead of the Nations Championship reveal on 2^nd November.

A handful of uncapped possibilities are presenting themselves. Hoskins Sotutu, the Newcastle number eight, possibly; Nathan Jibulu, the Sale hooker after his performance at Saracens at the weekend, maybe; but the favourite to win a first cap this autumn has to be Archie McParland.

Any scrum-half who can keep out Alex Mitchell for the opening fortnight of the season, as the 21-year-old has done at Northampton, must be doing plenty right. Like Mitchell, he is a constant threat around the ruck with his pace off the mark and an excellent support runner who has been turning heads in high places. There is every chance there could be two Saints nines involved with England.

“It would be massive,” McParland said. “I set my goal on being a rugby player when I was six years old and to have the opportunity to play for England. The main goal right now for me is getting in that squad and hopefully playing this autumn.

“To be able to do that, I’ve got to perform here at Saints and show that I’m the standard to get selected.”

McParland came within a whisker of an England call-up in the summer after an eye-catching second half of last season. It was triggered by a breakthrough game against the team Northampton face this weekend, Bath. The second-string side Saints sent to The Rec downed the then-champions 41-21, given a try-scoring lead by their young scrum-half.

“It was the game that boosted my confidence,” he said. “I felt like on the back of that I believed that I could do it at that level. It’s a game I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

“Before that game, in my own mind I didn’t feel free. But I had chats with the coaches, I had chats with the psychologist at the club and also my parents and I felt like going into that game, it was one where I could feel really free.

“We’d already been written off, we’d already lost it in the fans’ eyes and so it felt like a game where I didn’t really have much to lose. Obviously there’s a lot to lose because winning is important but it was a game that I went in feeling free and as time went on in the game I felt even freer.”

I was very excited for it so to come off in the first 15 was gutting. But, to be honest, all I was focused on was the massive hole in my leg. I was a bit terrified.

With Mitchell injured, McParland was handed the reins at scrum-half and thrived on the opportunity. He scored 14 tries in 25 games last season, winning the club’s young player of the year award.

He would, in all likelihood, have been part of Borthwick’s squad having trained with the national team in the latter stages of the season but was ruled out after sustaining an injury early on in the Prem final to make the milk on your cereal curdle. Covering back to tackle Exeter’s Campbell Ridl, his quad was gouged open, bacon slicer-style by the Chiefs wing’s studs, a wound that required 38 stitches.

“It wasn’t great. It was such a big occasion and I was very excited for it so to come off in the first 15 was gutting. But, to be honest, all I was focused on was the massive hole in my leg. I was a bit terrified,” he said.

“I’ve never really seen anything like it and it was a weird one because there was no massive collision or anything, it was such a normal tackle. I just got really unlucky. I don’t know what the hell happened there – maybe he was wearing daggers on the end of those boots.

“After it was all stitched up, I headed out onto the pitch and caught the last 10 minutes of the game and the ending made me feel much better about myself.”

To make matters worse, after joining the Saints victory parade, he had to spend a week in hospital because the cut developed an infection.

“Not the best of timing, once again. I was on a drip for about five or six days but I was lucky to have a lot of support around me which got me through it,” he said.

In another unfortunate piece of timing, McParland had to drop out of England’s alignment camp in September with illness but, repaired and restored, he has begun the season well.

The main thing is where I’m going to develop the most. I’m still young, I’ve still got a lot of development in me and growth. What I do next depends on where that is.

Stowe-educated alongside Henry Pollock, he is much more of an introvert than his brash friend but he is clearly a resilient sort.

The decision by Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson to give him the first two starts ahead of Mitchell illustrates just how his stock has risen at the club. Even though McParland is eight years Mitchell’s junior, this is no longer a master and apprentice relationship, it is a meeting of equals.

“I knew before the start of the season I’d be starting the first two games. Mitch and I know which games we are playing for the next few weeks up until the autumn internationals,” he said.

“That changes for other people in the squad in other positions and injuries and performance might come into it but it’s a bit of a guideline.

“The game time will be shared which will be good, I think. You don’t want to overplay.

“It’s great having Mitch alongside me. We get on well. We’ve got a good relationship. We’re just competing every day trying to get better. We’re pushing each other in training, we’re pushing each other in everything we do and that is only going to be good for us both.”

The dynamic is particularly interesting given McParland’s contract expires at the end of the season. Northampton will want to keep him, of course, but will a co-share arrangement for the Saints number nine shirt be enough to keep a player of such abundant promise?

“The main thing is where I’m going to develop the most. I’m still young, I’ve still got a lot of development in me and growth. What I do next depends on where that is,” he said.

“We’ve got very good coaches and a very good team here and I’ve got a lot better off the back of that.”

So that sounds good for Saints. There is a but, however…

“I’m a big believer in the more you play, the better you get. Training is definitely different to match day so it’s a massive aspect,” he added.

“If I’m playing 80 minutes a week somewhere else, then I might get better, but in the long run, injuries might come along by overplaying a bit. So that’s the decision I’ve got to make.

“I’m happy at Saints. It’s a great club. But we’ll see what happens.”

The Northampton scrum-half pipeline is clogged with talent. Beneath Mitchell and McParland, they have the England Under-20s incumbent Jonny Weimann and the England U18s’ Sonny Goode. So there are other options.

But the fact is with McParland’s flowering, the M and M double act is a sweet treat that trumps pretty much every other scrum-half combination in the league.