RICE CRACKER

Declan looks nailed on for England call

It IS not often Newcastle fans curse the name ‘Dec’ but they were left doing just that on Saturday, after Declan Rice passed his England audition in front of Gareth Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland. this victory for West Ham was all about three generations of uncapped English talents — a former captain, the current captain and a captain in the making. First there was Billy Bonds, 72 and honoured before kick-off by having a stand named after him. then there was Mark Noble, West Ham’s stalwart who scored their second goal. the 31-year-old midfielder featured for the three Lions from Under 16 to Under 21 level, but never the senior side. And finally Rice, the 20-year-old defensive midfielder who should earn his first cap later this month. Like Rice, Noble grew up eligible for England or the Republic of Ireland, so the skipper was in a unique position to advise the youngster on what to do. ‘I spoke to him a lot about it,’ Noble said. ‘I made a decision a long time ago. When I was a kid I didn’t dream of playing for Ireland — and there are kids out there who dreamed of playing for Ireland. ‘As soon as his name comes out and he is in that England squad, apart from his mum and dad, his brothers and maybe his girlfriend, I will be the next proudest because I have seen him come through.’ As for Newcastle, Rafa Benitez pointed out afterwards that the statistics showed his side managed 17 shots. that is true, but only two were on target.