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Teams

• Sale

Players

• Danny Care
• Neil Briggs

Skysports.com and Rugby World magazine, the world's best selling rugby magazine, have teamed up to bring you the future stars of rugby.

Each month we will be introducing two up-and-coming stars.

This month Sarah Mockford introduces us to Danny Care and Neil Briggs.

Leeds Tykes and England Sevens

It may be surprising to those who have criticised his pass over the years, but Justin Marshall's advice has certainly helped one of England's No 9 prospects, Leeds team-mate Danny Care.

Having spent many of his early years focusing on the round-ball game - he was on Sheffield Wednesday's books - Care has only played rugby seriously for the past three years, so is aware of the need to improve his scrum-half passing, which is where former All Black Marshall steps in.

"Justin's the best scrum-half in the world and whenever I want to ask him or show him something he has the time," says Care.

"We've done quite a bit on my passing and my mentor Mike Friday [the England Sevens coach] also helps me a lot with that."

Last season was a frustrating one for Care, snapped up by Leeds in 2003 from Otley, with a broken leg and a knee operation ruling him out for virtually the whole term.

But he made a bright start to this campaign, even if his club didn't, impressing when given first-team opportunities in the Guinness Premiership and the Powergen Cup.

"It's been a really good experience and I'm really enjoying my rugby."

RFU academy manager Brian Ashton has kept a close eye on Care, who has impressed those at HQ - he's the only uncapped sevens player in England's core squad.

"I first saw him playing for the U16s and he's got better and better as time's gone on," says Ashton.

"He has a pretty high skill level, and has great speed and game awareness. He's not lost anything in terms of speed and agility despite the injuries; he's still running around as elusively as ever."

Rugby World Verdict: Care's fresh face could fool a few people on the sevens circuit this season .

Sale Sharks and England U21

Once you've revelled in the freedom and space of playing in the back three, moving to the middle of the front row must be a claustrophobic experience, but Neil Briggs is proving particularly adept at hooker.

When he first turned out for Rotherham in his mid-teens, there weren't many players of his age, so he was included in older teams. But that meant being shunted out to the wing or full-back, sometimes even flanker.

Last season, however, he broke into the Titans' first team as hooker and soon came to the attention of England Under-21s coach Jim Mallinder.

"We heard about what he was doing at Rotherham, playing men's rugby week in, week out and doing well," says Mallinder.

"He played for us last season, a year young, in the Six Nations and at the World Cup. He's very dynamic, is a great tackler and he knows the game. And he's very enthusiastic."

It's that enthusiasm that is driving Briggs to improve, both in the technical and physical aspects of the game.

He moved to Sale over the summer, with the Titans unable to offer him full-time rugby, and is benefiting from working regularly with throwing coach James Wade.

"It's been great here," says the 20-year-old. "I've been throwing nearly every day and I'm also working on getting bigger. I'm not a big- scrummaging type of hooker, I like to get around the park and play more like a seven, but I've got to put some bulk on.

"Hopefully come the autumn Internationals I'll get some first-team games - my aim is to play in the Premiership this season. I'd also love to play for England again; that's been the highlight of my career."

Rugby World Verdict: With Wade's help he should be thrown in with the Sharks - and the U21s.