Lawrence Dallaglio heads into Wasps’ Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-final with Leicester on Saturday determined to win his "one-on-one battle" with England captain Martin Corry.
Should Dallaglio succeed at the Millennium Stadium, the repercussions could be far reaching as England head into their Six Nations clash with France in Paris.
Dallaglio, who returned to the England squad this season after 18 months in international retirement, has replaced Corry in two of England’s three Six Nations championship games to date.
And he is determined to keep the pressure on by turning in his best performance of the season to help Wasps reach the inaugural Anglo-Welsh Cup final at Twickenham.
"If either side is to prevail then there are some key one-on-one battles you have to win," said Dallaglio.
"I view every game as a chance to press my England claims. Hopefully that will be a consequence of the result and what happens in Cardiff.
"What we all want is to see England be as successful as possible. Martin and I are no different.
"For that to happen we need everyone playing as well as they can and causing selection problems. That is the challenge we all face.
"I am there in the England squad to compete and hopefully that might turn into 80 minutes. Until then I must work as hard as I can to force myself in.
"I’ll have to play well this weekend because you can’t do anything other than that to beat Leicester. It will take our very best performance to win."
