World Cup winner Andy Gomarsall is predicting great things for Gloucester's man-on-the-move Dan Robson and believes he has all the credentials to feature for his country.
The Kingsholm favourite says he has been impressed by the impact Wasps' 22-year-old signing has shown this season and reckons he can only get better with more time in the spotlight.
The scrum-half announced he will be making a summer move to the Coventry-based club earlier this month before going on a three-game scoring streak for the Cherry and Whites.
His decision to change Premiership allegiance came following a break-down in negotiations over a new contract, centred largely around a fall in the pecking order behind Scotland's goal-machine Greig Laidlaw.
Gomarsall, who was part of England's world champions squad in 2003, also guided the Red Rose to the final of the 2007 competition.
Following an 18-year career spanning seven clubs, including time at Gloucester and Wasps, the ex-nine thinks Robson's move is essential if he finally wants to become a first-team force.
"He is a cracking player," Gomarsall told the Citizen. "What you need as a nine is an ability to break the game up and he certainly possesses that.
"His all-over game as scrum-half is good - he scores unbelievable tries, he has great running lines of support and creates channels outside him.
"He is on fire at the moment and it is good to see because some people who make the decision to leave a club tend to taper off and never reach 100 per cent of their talent. He is having a stormer.
"I don't know him, but he probably sees himself as having the Scotland international captain and Gloucester's goal-kicker in front of him.
"It is very difficult to oust somebody who has been heavily invested in and, I assume, a lot of resource has been given to. He will certainly be on England's radar and, with the way he is playing and the way Wasps are playing now, he should go far."
Robson has been a feature at Gloucester since 2010, coming through the development system at Hartpury College.
The then teenager has come of age during his time at Kingsholm, pulling the nine shirt off the back of ex-All Black Jimmy Cowan last season and earning a call-up to England's elite training squad. Gomarsall says Gloucester's loss is definitely Wasps' gain.
"You do need quality throughout the squad and that means three very capable people in each position," the 40-year-old continued.
"He has put his hand up and proven he is a front-line scrum-half and isn't just a reserve coming off the bench. You can tell he is a player with huge ambition. He is still young and will be a great signing for Wasps.
"It's a shame Gloucester weren't able to keep hold of him. In a team, you need a balance and clearly the selectors have looked at the balance in the team with Laidlaw - maybe that was the reason."
David Humphreys is now in the market for a nine having lost potentially his most-potent pair of hands. Callum Braley has shown promise but Kingsholm needs a first-team regular while Laidlaw fulfills his international duties.
There is an argument that star signings are causing home-grown talent to be overlooked but Gomarsall says high-end recruitment has become part and parcel in the Premiership.
"It happens," he explained. "I played for a few clubs in my time and it is something that will happen more and more until it finally gets to a stage, like football, where we will have a transfer window and a deadline day.
"The attrition of these players and the way the game is played now for the full 80 minutes - it's brutal. In my day, you were better off but, as it has become more brutal, you need a bigger squad because it is hard to keep everybody fit.
"You are asking these players to put their bodies on the line week in week out, smacking each other in training every day. The attrition is huge as are the opportunities out there with bigger budgets. Why wouldn't you look elsewhere and explore other opportunities?
"Wasp play with a similar game to Robson - they have a lot of speed in their team - and with his speed, he has every chance of playing at the highest level if he gets more game time."
