Ben over moon at late call
BEN MOON is set to make his Test debut against South Africa after all but giving up hope that a senior England call would ever come. The Exeter prop, a team-mate of Ben Youngs and Jamie George in the England Under-20s team that reached the 2009 Junior World Championship final, is set to be on the bench for the first time today with Eddie Jones digging deep into his loosehead prop reserves. “I’m 30 next year and you do wonder if your international window is slowly closing. But you do get players who start their international careers in their thirties,” said Moon. “I’ve been given an opportunity with what has happened with injuries and retirements so I’m making the most of it. For a forward, it’s about as good at it gets playing South Africa.” Moon, set to shadow club-mate Alec Hepburn, thought his initial call-up in September was a joke. “Henry Slade was messaging and ringing me saying Richard Hill was trying to get hold of me. You think, ‘Yes of course he is’,” said Moon. “I was at a kids’ party and I had no signal. There was a bouncy castle and I was having a great time. “I walked out and my phone was going mad and there was an unfamiliar number. I thought, ‘Maybe he isn’t taking the mick’. “Some of the lads were already in camp so it was a mad rush. I was panicking. I got caught in traffic on the M5 and I was sat there thinking, ‘Don’t be late’. “My phone was dying, my satnav was on my phone and I thought ‘Oh no, this is all going to go wrong’. “When I finally got up there it was all a bit surreal. It didn’t feel real until a few days later when I thought, ‘I’ve just gone to an England camp’. “Now hopefully I’ll be involved against one of the world’s best packs.”