BEN Hinshelwood will stroll onto the Millennium Stadium turf today with his long-term future still up in the air.
The Worcester Rugby Club centre, who plays for Scotland today against Wales in the Six Nations, has been told by new coach Matt Williams to move to a provincial club in order to boost his international future.
And with the 26-year-old out of contract in the summer, the SRU will be trying everything to tempt him to Scotland. Worcester, who look odds-on to be in the Premiership next season, are keen to keep hold of their asset but director of rugby John Brain insists they will not be begging him to stay. "We believe that Premiership rugby is better for Ben Hinshelwood than playing in Scotland, it's obviously better for his development," said Brain.
"At the end of the day, Ben's got a decision to make at the end of the season. He knows how we value him but we won't be getting down on bended knee. We won't have long conversations about it. He is clear about how we rate him as a player and a person for Worcester Rugby Club but it will be his decision. It's not the worst position to be in for a player, however, because some are scraping around looking for clubs."
Meanwhile, coach Andy Keast believes that Neil Cole can be a big hit at Worcester. The scrum half, who joined this week from Natal Sharks, is on the bench for today's trip to Wakefield but could play a big part at College Grove.
"He's got explosive pace," said Keast. "There's no doubt about that, he's a very quick scrum half. We don't know that much about him yet but we believe he can pass the ball very well. Initially what we asking of Neil is to fit in with the game plan.
"Certainly the Wakefield game will be a good experience for him and will help him to settle in. He'll come away with us, see what we do at away matches and get to know the squad better.
"We haven't seen that much of him yet so we need to have a look at him in match situations. Only then can you really see his decision making skills."
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