Rising star Harry Randall has opened up on his ambitions to play Test rugby amid mounting talk Wales and England are keen on him.
The 22-year-old Bristol Bears scrum-half ace has seen team-mates Callum Sheedy and Ioan Lloyd called up by Wales for the six-match autumn campaign.
Randall's half-back partner Sheedy was eligible to represent Wales, Ireland or England, before Wayne Pivac's selection ended debate over which country he would pledge allegiance to.
Randall was born in Slough to two English parents, has played for England at Under-20 level, but is also understood to be eligible for Wales despite not being born in the country or having Welsh parents or grandparents.
He was, however, raised in west Wales, educated at Llandovery College - and quite audibly has a Welsh accent - and is thought to be eligible for Wales because he spent more than 10 consecutive years living in Wales from the age of four, a period of time which qualifies him under World Rugby regulation 8.
"It's my dream to play international rugby," he told The Times.
"I'd love to be called up, but my sole focus at the moment is playing for Bears and to keep performing as well as I can for them."
Speaking about his dual qualification, he continued: ""I believe I'm qualified [for Wales], yes. My family are still down there, so when I get the chance it's nice to pop back."
But when asked if he considered himself English, Randall paused for a while, before saying: "Yeah. I was born in England, my parents are English, so, yes."
That could be interpreted as Randall closing the door on Wales and throwing his lot in with England.
Or the pause he gave could be interpreted as keeping his options open slightly, pending any approaches from Pivac or England boss Eddie Jones.
Randall has set the English Premiership on fire with some stellar performances this season, bringing urgency and tempo to the game and being quick to the breakdown.
Wales have a better set of number nines than England, with Rhys Webb, Gareth Davies and Tomos Williams, when fit, battling for the jersey.
In Williams' injury absence, the Scarlets' Kieran Hardy has been called into the squad.
But Webb is 32 in December and Davies has turned 30, meaning there could be opportunities for the future for Randall.
It's similar in England where Jones' first-choice nine Ben Youngs is 31, with Will Heinz aged 33.
Randall's form helped Bristol make the Premiership play-offs.
Having recovered from a gruesome leg injury against Worcester last month, he is expected to feature for the Bears in their European Challenge Cup final against Toulon on Friday night.
