FORMER Barnard Castle School pupil Mathew Tait has set the place buzzing as he lines up to make his debut for the England rugby team tomorrow.

Tait, who hails from Wolsingham and will celebrate his 19th birthday on Sunday, will become the youngest player to represent his country since his injured Newcastle Falcons teammate Jonny Wilkinson when he treads the turf in the Six Nations opener against Wales at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

Tait, who this time last season was still playing for the school side, made his Zurich Premiership debut last May, scoring a try with his first touch of the ball against London Irish.

One of the proudest people making the trip to see tomorrow's match is the school's rugby coach, Martin Pepper, who told the D&S Times that Tait had stood out in his peer group from an early age because of his pure pace.

"The school is buzzing at the moment with Mathew in all the papers," said Mr Pepper, himself a former Harlequins player. "I always thought it was his destiny to play for England and I'm thrilled for him."

Mr Pepper described his former pupil's talent as special. "He is determined to succeed and just wants to do well," he added. "As well as his tremendous speed - he could have been a sprinter - he has the magical ability to change a game, which makes him exciting to watch. At the same time he is very modest and that is a tribute to his parents who have supported him all the way."

With Tait's star definitely in the ascendancy, Mr Pepper called him a flag bearer for the school, which had a knock-on effect in interesting even more young boys in the game.

"Our first team has lost only four times in their past 70 matches," he said.

The school has a proud reputation for producing rugby stars, with the Underwood brothers Tony and Rory and current Falcons boss Rob Andrew among its former pupils. These have been followed more recently by names such as Lee Dickson, a senior academy player who made his debut for the Falcons last Friday, and scrum half Ben Jones of Northampton.

However, one person who will be unable to attend tomorrow's match is Tait's number one fan, younger brother Alex.

For the 16-year-old, who is already following in his footsteps, will be training with the England under-18s for most of the weekend, but will be glued to the television when the whistle blows tomorrow night.