Junior Bok Hammond pins hopes on England
EXPLOSIVE Worcester wing Dean Hammond is stepping up his bid for Test honours after impressing over the first half of the campaign.
England-qualified Hammond, 24, joined Warriors from Western Province in 2013 after previously starring alongside Springbok regulars Handre Pollard and Jan Serfontein in the South Africa U20s side that lifted the 2012 Junior World Cup.
Hammond, who has five tries this season, told The
Rugby Paper: “Handre and Jan have taken their opportunities with South Africa, but I’ve got my own Test ambitions here.
“This has been my most productive season to date and to be finding my way to the try-line regularly in a team that hasn’t been winning much is really encouraging.
“At the moment my focus is on helping Worcester get up the league, but beyond that I’d love to get a shot with England and I feel I have that capability.”
Worcester are battling at the wrong end of the table but with influential scrumhalf Francois Hougaard set to return from injury, Hammond is confident the Sixways outfit have the firepower to blast their way out of trouble.
He said: “We’re lucky having guys like Francois, Ben Te’o and Cooper Vuna who bring real X-factor to our backline, with a lot of skill and pace, and if we can just get the ball into our hands we know we can cause some real damage.
“It’s been a real battle for the medical staff with the number of injuries we’ve had but we’re getting boys back and in form again.”
Meanwhile, durable Warriors back rower Phil Dowson is in talks over a new contract to extend his professional career into an 18th season. Dowson, 35, made his Premiership bow for Newcastle in 2001 and is closing in on Steve Borthwick’s 265-match top-flight appearance record.
He told The Rugby Paper: “I’d like another couple of years but young lads like Marco Mama and Matt Cox are coming through so we’ll have to see.
“We’re talking, but the priority is to stay in the league and strengthen for next season so I’m a little way down the pecking order.”