European Cup/ Wasps v Leicester Sunday, 3.0: Robert Kitson on how the sparks will fly tomorrow when Wasps' England old boy Matt Dawson faces Leicester Tigers' young pretender Harry Ellis.

Even five years ago the idea would have been dismissed as absurd. Can a club game really be more intense than a Test match played the previous Saturday in front of 73,000 at Twickenham? And yet, when Wasps play host to Leicester tomorrow, it will be impossible to spot the join between autumn internationals and the European Cup.

A fleeting glance down the team sheet is sufficient: former England captains on opposing sides, an array of international back rows and, in lieu of light relief, two scrumhalves scrapping like starving terriers over a solitary rat.

Those who know the rival number nines, Leicester's Harry Ellis and Wasps' Matt Dawson, well have been rubbing their hands all week. "It'll be a great contest," chortles Richard Cockerill, the former England hooker now back coaching at Welford Road.

"Daws has been left out of the England set-up, so he'll obviously have a big point to prove. He'll be thinking: 'This young guy is where I want to be' and will try anything he can to put one over on him. But, regardless of Harry's lack of experience, I'm equally sure he'll give Daws a hard afternoon. I'm biased but I'd go with Harry every time."

If the 22-year-old Ellis is a little more circumspect - "It's important not to get into a personal battle . . . you've just got to try and compete as hard as you normally would" - their generation game is among the most fascinating elements of a thunderous Pool One duel spread over successive weekends.

Having lost his England place after missing training to record A Question of Sport, should Dawson falter tomorrow the short-term horizons will decrease dramatically for both him and, probably, his club. But, if Ellis crumples beneath the weight of expectation, there may just be a Six Nations reprieve for Dawson, 10 years his senior.

Ellis is a product of his environment, having inherited the workaholic Leicester gene which still drives the likes of Martin Johnson and Neil Back. He is no flash Harry, not within earshot of his team-mates anyway. His father Bob, a retired policeman, played for the Tigers and his son wears the jersey with due reverence.

"It's everyone's dream to play for their country but it's nice to get back to reality. It's an honour to play for Leicester and I enjoy it as much as playing for England." There is not the slightest suggestion in his brown eyes that he is exaggerating.

Which is why Wasps will be watchful tomorrow. Judging by the way Leicester's head coach John Wells yesterday tore into the local radio reporter who naively asked him where their opposition might prove vulnerable, the Tigers are back in the unforgiving mode which conquered Europe in 2001 and 2002, and their youthful scrumhalf seems equally at home on the big occasions.

Leicester might not have won their second European crown without Ellis's alert semi-final try against Llanelli at the City Ground, Nottingham, and, despite starting only nine European Cup games, he has already accumulated seven tries. Add the razor-sharp dart into the blindside corner to secure a last-gasp Premiership draw against Bath in October and the debate over the quality of his pass becomes a relative issue.

"As a youngster there were parts of Hazza's game that weren't very strong but he's worked extremely hard on his conditioning and passing," insists Cockerill, who was playing for Leicester when the Wigston-born Ellis was just another rugby-mad local 10-year-old.

"He was born with a real iron determination to succeed; he's tough, he's rugged and he doesn't take a backward step. For a lad of his age he's got some bottle. You need will and commitment to survive at this club, it's a very harsh environment. The weaker guys get weeded out and moved on very quickly."

Ellis, without question, is no shrinking violet, having represented England's under-18 side when he was only 16.

If he does become Jonny Wilkinson's established Test halfback partner, it will be a meeting of dedicated minds.

"I'm lucky I'm doing something I've always wanted to do. When my non-rugby friends are going out boozing and getting up to things, they understand I've got to go training. Some of them don't know what they want to do and I feel sorry for them in a way. I just want to do myself justice, try as hard as I can and have no regrets."

Ellis has also been stirred by the recent proposal for the club to relocate to the Walkers Stadium. "I've spoken about it to some of the other local lads like Louis and Brett Deacon, Ollie Smith and Sam Vesty. It was always our dream to run out at Welford Road and now some of the younger lads may not have that chance."

Whatever the location, though, Leicester's past, present and future all appear to be encapsulated in Ellis's diminutive frame.

Guardian Service