Sheridan has long been talked of as an England forward of the future and has come on leaps and bounds at Sale under the tutelage of first Steve Diamond then more recently Kingsley Jones.

The 25-year-old has always been famed for his ability with weights - he can bench press over 30 stones and was tagged the strongest man in English rugby by Bob Dwyer - but has taken time to master the 'dark arts' after being switched from a second row to a prop forward.

He certainly looks to have the required technique now though and has been in superb form for Sale, particularly at the tail-end of the season. He also has a big fan in former Lions boss Fran Cotton.

A huge physical presence in the front row standing 6ft 4in and weighing over 19 stone, Sheridan toured South Africa with England in 2000 but only made his breakthrough into the full Test team in the autumn of last year when he came off the bench against Canada to win his only cap.

Strong defensively and a powerful runner with the ball, Sheridan is rightly regarded as one for the future but with Sir Clive Woodward known to favour physical players, particularly against a rough and tough New Zealand outfit, his time may be now particularly given his front-row versatility.