MILES Benjamin has taken heart from England boss Martin Johnson’s willingness to hand youngsters their chance in his new-look international set-up.

The ex-England captain, now national team boss, handed debuts to the likes of Ugo Monye and Delon Armitage against the Pacific Islanders and Warriors’ flier Benjamin hopes to follow in their footsteps.

“It is definitely heartening for me to see players like Ugo being given their chance by England,” the Sixways academy product said.

“I remember seeing him when he was about 19 doing really well in the Premiership and he has kept that up for a couple of years, so it’s good to see him getting an opportunity.

“I would definitely like to emulate players like him.

“It is flattering that people mention me in that kind of light but there are a lot of competitive players playing week in, week out in the country and it is good to see them getting their chance.”

Benjamin may well have already caught the England supremo’s eye, though, as he ran in two tries against London Irish in the 22-5 EDF Energy Cup victory in October while Johnson was in the Sixways stands.

However, the England Under 20s winger believes he still has a lot to do to earn international recognition and plans to concentrate on playing well at Worcester for the time being.

He added: “We are open as a club in terms of saying what our ambitions are, where we want to be heading and how we want to get there.

“So I think it is good that people such as Martin Johnson are taking notice and coming down to watch us.

“On the back of that, we’ve got to make sure we perform well when he does come to watch and show people exactly what the club is all about.

“I wouldn’t have said that I was as close to getting international honours as the guys who were brought into the last England squad, though.

“They have been around the Premiership for quite a while.

“Obviously, I want to be playing well for Worcester but I‘m not too fussed personally as long as I am playing in a winning team and having a positive influence rather than a negative one.”