World Cup winner Ben Kay is backing Leicester Tigers colleague Jordan Crane to make a big impression at international level. Crane, who represented England U-21 at the IRB World Championships last summer, makes his England Saxons debut against Italy A at Exeter this evening.

And Kay, who captained Tigers to the victory over Newcastle Falcons last Saturday which took them to the top of the Guinness Premiership table, has been impressed by his club colleague since his summer arrival from Leeds Tykes.

"Jordan is an excellent player and I don't think I've seen a guy who is stronger on his feet," said Kay who has 45 England caps. "He is a very strong ball-carrier and he is going to be a star of the future.

"I am sure there are some areas of his game that Cockers has an eye on in terms of improvement but, if he can keep improving in those areas, there is no reason why he should not become an England regular in the future.

"He has captained the U-21s and he came here with a good reputation. We were hoping he could live up to it, which can sometimes be difficult coming into a club like Leicester, but he has certainly done that and he deserves his chances in the side."

The match, which kicks off at 8pm this evening at Sandy Park Stadium, home of Exeter Chiefs, will be shown live on Sky Sports.