Jack Clifford now the real deal after his call-up to Eddie Jones’s England squad

It may happen at Murrayfield on 6 February or it may have to wait until Valentine’s Day in Rome. Sooner or later, Jack Clifford appears destined to make his England debut and to meet the Harlequins back-rower straight after his inclusion in the new head coach Eddie Jones’s first squad was to sense scarcely less of a thrill than that of the week’s lottery winners and space walkers.

“I got the call from Eddie on Tuesday night,” says Clifford, who will celebrate his 23rd birthday between the two above-mentioned Six Nations Championship matches with Scotland and Italy, “but I only told my mum and dad to begin with. I wanted to wait until the official announcement the next day to make sure it was real. I’d love to think I’m in with a shout of playing. That’s what I want. It’s been my aspiration since I started playing. But it doesn’t come without a lot of hard work.”

Clifford’s appearance in Harlequins’ No 7 jersey against Cardiff Blues today is a crucial chance to further his case. On the other side of the back row, wearing six, will be Chris Robshaw, and these two selections and their difference from what went on last autumn are wrapped up in the story of England’s new battle to win ball at the breakdown. Jones has ripped up the plan that failed at the World Cup, when Robshaw laboured unsuccessfully to keep Australia’s Michael Hooper and David Pocock at bay.

Now the much quicker Clifford has the chance to be England’s openside, as well as covering No 8, while Robshaw contests the blindside position to which his durable tackling and set-piece skills are better suited. James Haskell of Wasps and Gloucester’s Matt Kvesic are other No 7 options for Jones, who has consulted George Smith, formerly the coach’s openside with the Brumbies, Australia and Suntory in Japan, and now playing for Wasps.

“Eddie has set out a clear definition of what he wants from his seven,” says Clifford, as we meet for a coffee by the River Thames near his Surbiton home. “It is making quick ball when you’re attacking, and slowing it down defensively. Having that out there is great knowledge for me. I can set my stall out – whether that’s showing him, playing seven on Sunday, or in training.”

On the opposite bank of the river lies Hampton Court Palace where Jane Seymour gave birth to Henry VIII’s son and heir, while others were losing their heads. Clifford belongs to an impressive Harlequins line of succession. Three England No 8s – Dean Richards, Tony Diprose and Nick Easter – have been his first director of rugby, academy director and team-mate respectively. Mo Fa’asavalu, the eminent and rampaging Samoa flanker, was a mentor from whom Clifford learnt how to fend off defenders.

Clifford missed England U16 caps through injury, but he represented England U18s before captaining the Under-20s to the world championship title in 2013. He has skippered Harlequins this season, too, in the Challenge Cup matches with Cardiff Blues and Calvisano, albeit that the Cardiff date ended after 30 minutes due to concussion. That was a rare dark episode – literally, as Clifford needed a couple of days free from TV and mobile to recuperate.

“The players around me in that Cardiff game – James Horwill, who has captained Australia, Adam Jones, the Lions prop – are great leaders themselves and they helped me. You can’t just become top dog, as a youngster. You have to earn respect. I’ve watched and learnt from Chris Robshaw’s work ethic, and Nick Easter’s offloading game.

“I have been talking to [former Test back-rower] Richard Hill, my mentor with England. He has thought of bits I can do, with some army guys. All my friends take the mick out of me for how I talk before games. I always get fairly heated, and I see the worst things before the best. I am like that with myself as a player. I might score two tries but if I miss a tackle, I’ll be thinking about the missed tackle.”

Before all that, Clifford and his elder brother got started in rugby by their dad David at the Cranleigh club in Surrey, at a time when Richards – who advocated Clifford for England honours at the start of this season – was pottering around with his own children on a Sunday morning.

The Cliffords had returned from Brisbane, Australia, where Jack was born and lived as a toddler. His mum Karen is a Guildford girl but the family on his father’s side is British Kenyan, going back a few generations. “My great-grandparents have a vast farm near Mt Kenya,” says Jack. “I went there camping – well, it was glamping, really. We saw elephants.” He has a yearning to revisit his birthplace, and the first Test on England’s tour of Australia this June is in Brisbane. No doubt that would do.

When Jones announced Clifford at Twickenham on Wednesday in the squad of 33 players that will meet on 25 January, he may have described him as “only a kid at the moment” but he also praised him warmly.

“I didn’t know about Clifford before I arrived,” said Jones, “[but] he has been a revelation, watching him play. You go and watch Harlequins and you don’t need to know anything about rugby to know he’s a good player. He has great acceleration and he can do the simple things well. He’s got the physical power. His best position is definitely going to be No 8, but he might have to start off as a seven. Rodney So’oialo [the 62-cap All Black] started off as a seven and he ended up as a pretty handy No 8. If Clifford turns out to be that good we’ll be pretty happy.”

As a fan who watched England beat Italy at Twickenham in 2009 – the now forwards assistant Steve Borthwick was captain – Clifford felt double the World Cup pain as Robshaw and fellow Harlequins Mike Brown and Joe Marler were among the sufferers. “Chris puts it in 110 per cent,” Clifford says, “whether it’s a National One game somewhere, or 80,000 at a sold-out Twickenham. He came back [from the World Cup] and was man of the match against Worcester, and dogging it out in horrible conditions at Exeter, and playing well. He’s really admirable.”