WHEN England coach Andy Robinson named his side for this evening's Six Nations opener in Wales, the inclusion of one name caused even the most experienced of rugby judges to scratch their heads.

This time last year, teenage centre Mathew Tait was playing for his Barnard Castle school side and frantically cramming in revision for his forthcoming A-Level exams.

Tonight, when he runs out in front of 70,000 screaming Welsh fans at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, he will become the youngest player to play for England since his Newcastle Falcons team-mate Jonny Wilkinson.

The speed of the transition has been incredible but, stand in Tait's family home in the County Durham village of Wolsingham, and you suddenly start to appreciate how inevitable it has been.

Whichever way you look at it, the 18-year-old was always going to make it to the top.

Glance around the photographs on the sitting room walls and you are taken on a journey that has already seen Tait represent England's Under-19s in last spring's World Cup and help the England Sevens side win in Dubai last winter.

Look out of the kitchen window and, in an adjacent farmer's field, you will see the home-made goalposts which the youngster has used to hone the kicking game that will be put to the test by an ebullient Wales today.

But, wander into the garden, and you will stumble across the one artefact that underlines how eagerly Tait has always looked forward to this day.

There, in a corner of the lawn, is a piece of Twickenham turf that he brought home with him after watching Newcastle Falcons lose to Wasps in the final of 1999's Tetley's Bitter Cup.

Any time he has felt down or disillusioned since, he has simply had to wander into the garden for a reminder of where he was headed.

By the end of this evening, the journey will be complete and, when France travel to London next Sunday, the whole of Twickenham will be Tait's private lawn.

"I'm still pinching myself to believe that this is really happening," said an understandably excited Tait, when we met at England's Bagshot training base earlier this week. "I always hoped this day would come, but I never expected it to come this quickly.

"People have been told me I could play for England in the past but, at the start of the season, my only goals were to force my way into the Newcastle side and play some games in the Premiership.

"I've grown up watching England games on the television and it still hasn't really hit home that it's going to be me running out in an England shirt in Cardiff."

Just 11 years ago, Tait was running onto a rugby field for the first time in the rather less auspicious surroundings of Consett.

As a pupil at Wolsingham Primary School, his earliest sporting memories involved a round ball but, when a Penzance-born friend suggested giving a rugby a try, Tait was only too keen to tag along.

"I don't think he knew what rugby was at that stage," joked his father Alasdair, a local vet whose Scottish heritage meant that Mathew could have been playing in blue today if England hadn't claimed him first.

"He played mini-rugby at Consett for three or four years and I think the way the club looked after him played a major role in him wanting to pursue his interest in the game.

"He moved to Barnard Castle School when he was 11 and, even though he was still playing football at that stage, it quickly came to a point where he had to choose one or the other.

"He opted for rugby and, before too long, he was playing for the county and going away to train with England in their various age groups.

"That was really when people started to talk to us about how good he might be. We were sceptical at first - I think you always are as parents - but he kept on improving and, by last year, there was interest in him turning professional."

Most of that interest came from Newcastle and Gloucester but, like any concerned parents, Alasdair and his wife Julie were reluctant to see their son throw his education away.

So, while Tait agreed to join Newcastle and enjoyed a try-scoring debut against London Irish in May, his celebrations were cut short by his A-level exams in June.

Success on the rugby field was matched by success in the classroom - Tait learned he had achieved three A-grades during Newcastle's pre-season tour of Ireland - but, after being accepted by Durham University, one more decision had to be made.

"I would say that my university plans are only on hold," said Tait. "It's definitely something that I still want to do.

"It's been a difficult decision because I don't want to put all of my eggs in one basket.

"But I'm looking at it like taking a gap year. A lot of people in my school have chosen to take a gap year and I don't really feel any different to them."

There won't be many who have used their year quite so productively though.

Since forcing his way into the Falcons side at the start of the season, Tait has rapidly been viewed as the potential saviour of the English game. Or, perhaps more commonly, the centre has been feted as the new Jonny Wilkinson.

The comparisons with Wilkinson are as apt as they are obvious. Both players were carefully groomed by Falcons duo Rob Andrew and Steve Black. Both were handed their England debut at the age of 18 and, as the rugby posts opposite Tait's home testify, both have developed a quasi-religious devotion to the merits of hard work and practice.

Wilkinson described his team-mate as "a lot better than I was at his age" earlier this year and, while Tait was understandably uncomfortable talking about the trappings of fame in front of the world's media this week, he was at his most lucid when extolling the importance of his pre-match preparations.

"I'll be nervous when I run onto the field at Cardiff," he admitted. "But I'll also know that I've done everything I can to make this a success.

"I've always worked hard at my skills, and you've got to believe that they're going to be good enough to carry you through.

"If you know that you've worked as hard as you can at improving your skills, there's no reason to be nervous.

"I know how hard I've worked at improving my game and I'm sure that will stand me in good stead this weekend."

But, while Tait might sound like a wily old veteran, his all-action playing style still screams of the innocence of youth.

Robinson has sought to dampen down predictions of his possible impact this week, but fellow centre and Newcastle team-mate Jamie Noon is in no doubt as to how explosive his Six Nations introduction could be.

"The way he plays is refreshing to me," said Noon. "I've been in the game a little while - some might say I'm getting a bit long in the tooth - but this guy has inspired even me.

"He's so laid back that he's forced me to have a fresh look at a few things.

"Things that troubled or stressed me in the past are not even an obstacle to this lad."

By forcing his way into the England team on the eve of his 19th birthday, Tait has already overcome every barrier that has been placed in his way since he first threw a rugby ball at the age of seven.

The Welsh backs will represent another hurdle this evening but, given the way he has handled himself this week, few would bet against Tait also taking them in his stride in Cardiff.

And, after forcing his parents to dig up their garden once, Tait could well be calling for some more spade work on Monday.

Twickenham turf is all well and good, but some Millennium Stadium mud would be even better if Tait were to cross the try line into it tonight.