I’ve seen England’s next hooker – he’s 20 years old, 18 stone and born in Wales

Kepu Tuipulotu looks to have the complete package to solve England’s hooker crisis and the only question about the raw youngster from Bath is: if not now, then when?

England will need three hookers at the Rugby World Cup in Australia next year, and they have around 15 Tests to play between now and then.

Head coach Steve Borthwick cannot possibly learn any more about the two stalwart veterans of the piece: Jamie George and Luke Cowan-Dickie, who have 110 and 58 England caps respectively.

And the unlucky Cowan-Dickie picked up a suspected broken wrist in Sale Sharks’ Champions Cup win at Harlequins on Saturday, and looks like missing England’s summer matches with South Africa, Fiji and Argentina.

So there is a vacancy in the front rank of England’s front row, and Tuipulotu, even at the tender age of 20, shows strong signs of possessing the necessary skills and temperament.

‘One of the most explosive players I’ve coached’

Two weeks ago, the son of a Tonga centre was all over rugby’s socials with his dynamic assist of a try for his Bath team-mate, Bernard van der Linde.

Tuipulotu, who was born in Wales while his dad was playing for a Welsh club, broke round the front of a line-out, swept past a tackle and kicked ahead for Van der Linde to run on.

“To have the speed of thought to put the ball in behind, it was a massive moment in the game,” Bath’s head coach Johann van Graan said. “[Tuipulotu] is one of the most explosive players I’ve coached – explosiveness is certainly a big point of difference.”

Now, Van Graan is never shy in bigging up his players.

But while the assist was highly admirable, Tuipulotu backed it up on Saturday in Bath’s 31-22 Champions Cup defeat of Saracens with a powerful final quarter as a sub that would have swayed anyone doubting his set-piece skills.

With Saracens’ international-packed line-up refusing to be put away, Tuipulotu’s first scrum saw the London side back-pedalling and forced into bail-out mode.

At no fewer than six line-outs in the space of 20 tension-packed minutes, Tuipulotu calmly hit double top with his darts, defying the wind to find Charlie Ewels in the middle, or Guy Pepper and Miles Reid at the front.

Wrapping round to make short carries after the line-out – in the second phase and whenever needed after that – plus clearing out and being the acting half-back were other key contributions that became evident on a second viewing of a frenzied finish; as was his foot speed in a rapid recovery when Saracens kicked downfield.

Trusted to close out Bath’s big games

The naysayers would argue it is too early for Tuipulotu to be promoted to senior international rugby.

Van Graan appears to have been cautious, when he says Bath have “given him a bit here and a bit there and he’s used every single opportunity”.

The stats show 17 appearances for the Prem champions this season, with only two of them as starts, both in the Premiership Cup.

It is reminiscent of how George, now 35 and England’s most capped hooker, bided his time behind John Smit and Schalk Brits at Saracens, before he became an international regular.

But the alternative, exciting and maybe significant view is Bath are trusting Tuipulotu to close these matches out.

And if they keep on doing the same now we are in the business end of the season, he could be on the pitch for some huge moments as his club chase a Prem and European double.

At 6ft tall, he looks and moves a bit like George, with his scuttling carries.

Tuipulotu has Bath’s assistant coaches Steve Scott and Richard Blaze working on his set-piece, and Tom Dunn, 33 years old and thrice capped by England, is a valuable role model as a hooker.

And also on the field there is no one better than Thomas du Toit – the tighthead prop who is arguably the Prem’s pound-for-pound most influential player – to wrap his weighty arm round the tyro’s back at scrum time.

Ready for the step up? You bet

As for needing to learn the line-out… Cowan-Dickie, bless him, had a well-documented nightmare against Ireland in this year’s Six Nations, and George had his wobbles at Bath, so it can happen to anyone.

Tuipulotu has already done the rounds for England in the age groups, and he played from the bench in all three of England A’s matches this season – against an All Blacks XV and Spain in November, and Ireland A in February – behind Jamie Blamire of Leicester Tigers and Sale Sharks’ Nathan Jibulu.

He has also had training time with the senior squad, so Borthwick clearly believes he is made of the right stuff.

It is a view shared by Bath’s academy transition coach, Andy Robinson, the former England flanker and head coach who waxed lyrical about Tuipulotu’s scrummaging and contact skills when asked about him a few months ago.

Blamire and Saracens’ Theo Dan might be marginally ahead of Tuipulotu in the England queue, on age and experience, while Jibulu, Northampton Saints’ Curtis Langdon and Bristol Bears’ Gabriel Oghre each have their merits.

But Tuipulotu looks well set for that white No 2 jersey, sooner or later.

And if he could be ready in time for the World Cup, then Borthwick needs to get him into the squad at the earliest opportunity, and make the most of what Tuipulotu is offering his adopted country.