New England flanker Fourie backed to make the grade

Leeds Carnegie's openside flanker is poised to make his debut for his adopted country from the bench on Saturday as England open their Autumn International campaign against New Zealand at Twickenham.

Leeds head coach Back played 66 times for England, predominantly in the No 7 position Fourie one day hopes to make his own, and believes the progress the 31-year-old former Rotherham Titan has made in the last two-and-a-half years merits a first shot at international Test rugby.

"Two years ago you could see the talent was there, but he's worked incredibly hard to maximise that and get where he is," said Back. "Last season he was the standout No 7 in the Premiership. His performances for Leeds against all opposition were incredible and he's continued in that vein this year."

As one of the most respected flankers of the past two decades, with a World Cup winner's medal and three Lions tours under his belt, Back has had an undoubtable influence on a player who three years ago was playing part-time rugby.

Fourie has stated in the past that Back has been a valuable sounding board on his journey from second tier forward to international standard, and although Back has been available this week to offer advice and encouragement, the Leeds coach believes his protege will take the whole experience in his stride.

"I've walked the pitch with him and talked to him about different scenarios and about mental rehearsal," said Back. "Not about what I did, but what he's done and how to capture those moments. There's things I've talked to him about; skill sets, his role – but he's got where he has through his hard work, not because of me. Hendre has a strong mentality, he knows it's all about performance and doing the things he does well.

"Mentally it's a challenge, you're suddenly surrounded by 80,000 people in the stadium with another 10 million watching at home. You've got to put that out of our mind. If you've got the ability, the higher you play the easier it is, you've just got to concentrate on your job and if he does that, he'll be fine."

Leeds hooker Steve Thompson starts for England with Back confident that having two Carnegie players in the set-up reaffirms that the Yorkshire club are making positive strides despite their position at the foot of the Aviva Premiership table.

He said: "It's a good statement that we've got two players involved in such a massive game for England 12 months out from the World Cup."