Great Scot! Wiki rumour won’t stop Bassett’s England claim

JOSH BASSETT has a message for those north of the border — he is not Scottish.

‘On my Wikipedia page it says I was born in Edinburgh,’ the Wasps winger said. ‘It was Luton, so I’m not sure where that has come from!

‘I haven’t got a Scottish accent. I’m completely English — straight down the line.’

With reports this week that Gregor Townsend, the Scotland coach, wants to boost his ranks with qualified players from all over the UK, it is worth clarifying.

Bedfordshire’s Bassett, 25, only has sights set on England. ‘It is something I’m trying to aim for and to strive for,’ he said. ‘All I can do is hope what I’m putting out there is what people want to see.’

He does have potential. At Wasps Bassett is the quickest of the lot — he has been clocked running a touch under 23mph this season.

Director of rugby Dai Young has collected many backline stars, with Bassett the leastheralded name. ‘When you first hear of the signings you think: ‘Aww that’s really exciting,’ but then they walk through the door and you realise they are just human beings,’ he said.

‘Kurtley Beale would always ask for advice. At first you are a bit starstruck, but when you get to know him he’s just

a normal guy like anyone else. You have a laugh and a joke but obviously he’s an absolute superstar on the rugby field.

‘For a young lad from Bedford to have the opportunity to develop with him, it is absolutely amazing.’

Bassett impressed in football and athletics before he turned to rugby when his club side, Ampthill, made the U17s National Bowl final. Soon Bedford Blues came calling. ‘They wanted to throw the ball around everywhere, so I got my hands on the ball a lot as a young winger,’ he said.

‘If I’d just been stood on the wing waiting for things to come to me, potentially my career wouldn’t have gone that way.’

He knows what to do to get into the England reckoning, starting by performing against Harlequins in the Champions Cup this afternoon.

But he added: ‘I don’t think I am anywhere near the finished article.’