Colin Charvis’ hopes of being named in Sir Clive Woodward’s Lions squad have been boosted after being given a ringing endorsement by Newcastle team-mate Jonny Wilkinson.
The England captain believes the Wales back row stalwart is the best player in the world at stealing the ball and former England boss Woodward is likely to sit up and take notice of the opinion of the man he named as successor to Martin Johnson before quitting the England set-up to focus in this summer’s tour of New Zealand.
"Colin has been a massive addition to Newcastle this season," Wilkinson said.
"I didn’t see much of his game during the 2001 Lions tour but since he’s joined us I’ve been so impressed by the way he steals ball," he said.
"He’s very adept at turning ball over for us, which makes us far more dangerous because there’s no better ball than turnover ball for attacking.
"I think he’s the best in the world at that."
