England<\/a> believe that in Fraser Dingwall, one of the nicest and most unassuming men in professional rugby, they have uncovered their Rodri equivalent; a modern day Mike Catt whose communication, rugby IQ, emotional intelligence and lack of ego can bring the best out of those around him. Plus, he\u2019s a mighty fine centre in his own right. Underappreciated and unfashionable? Yes. But that tends to be the way with glue players. <\/p>\n Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who like many glue players is sometimes underappreciated, won the Ballon d\u2019Or last year to buck the recent trend of the prize going to flair players<\/p>\n RICHARD PELHAM\/GETTY<\/p>\n Dingwall missed England\u2019s summer tour with a calf injury but he returns to the No12 jersey for Saturday\u2019s Test against Australia, operating as an extra pair of eyes for George Ford at fly half and helping Tommy Freeman adapt to the different demands of playing outside centre. <\/p>\n For 40 minutes on a comfy chair at England\u2019s training base, we discuss the art of the inside centre. Some coaches want a power athlete in the role, others a second playmaker. To construct the perfect No12, Dingwall would pull the best qualities from three of the greatest inside centres.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you could make the perfect player you would have power, ball-playing ability and chat,\u201d Dingwall says. \u201cDe Allende\u2019s power is his super strength. For ball-playing ability and kicking game, Jordie Barrett. Even when Damien Willemse played there for South Africa recently and look at the ball movement they got with him there. <\/p>\n \u201cMatt Giteau is a throwback but what he gave Australia was so much organisation, the eyes for the fly half inside of him. He is a 12 who has not necessarily been the biggest but has a huge impact on their team through stuff you might not see most of the time. <\/p>\n \u201cThose who know the game understand that. Things are not always black and white around stats or line breaks but he is making a huge impact to that team in a way that we might not necessarily see. <\/p>\n Dingwall is in line to earn his fifth England cap against the Wallabies at Twickenham on Saturday<\/p>\n DAVID ROGERS\/GETTY<\/p>\n \u201cRealistically I think that is my game. I love a No12 to be that second link, to give information to the fly half and to connect the inside part of the chain \u2014 forwards and half-backs \u2014 to the talented individuals you have got from No13 out, and move the attack to where the space is. Some guys have freak athletic ability. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat am I looking for? Numbers in front of you and where the space is; whether it\u2019s the edge, whether it\u2019s back on the short side. You are almost playing a phase in advance. If I can get the best out of guys around me then that is me having a brilliant game.\u201d<\/p>\n Some players change character when they cross the whitewash. The way Dingwall plays is reflective of his personality. He does not need to be at the forefront of everything. \u201cThere are not many people like Henry Pollock<\/a>,\u201d he laughs. \u201cWhen Fordy won his 100th cap he said he played the game for two reasons: for his family but also to gain respect from team-mates and coaches.<\/p>\n \u201cThat resonated with me because it is how I feel. I want the team to do really well. How can I contribute to that for the better of the team? I don\u2019t think I desire it being reflected on me. I would hope I have the respect of those around me and they value what I can bring to a team.\u201d <\/p>\n Dingwall watches a lot of rugby. He has taken to following the NRL along with Fin Smith<\/a> and George Furbank, fascinated by the running lines in rugby league and how they drift with the ball so they catch a pass in space. England will need to be hot on those traits on Saturday, with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii lining up against them in the Wallabies midfield. <\/p>\n Twelve months ago, Suaalii played his first adult game of rugby union<\/a> against England at Twickenham and was named man of the match for his exquisite distribution and aerial prowess, nicking restarts off Maro Itoje<\/a> like a pickpocket on Oxford Street. <\/p>\n Suaalii produced a brilliant man-of-the-match display against England last year on what was his senior rugby union debut after having made the switch from rugby league<\/p>\n DAVID ROGERS\/GETTY<\/p>\n \u201cOne of Suaalii\u2019s best traits is getting to the man outside him, getting to that next defender so he can create a two-on-one,\u201d Dingwall says. \u201cAnd he has really good qualities in the air, which was honed in the NRL. They have been ahead of rugby union in that area but I think we are catching up rapidly. Tommy has been doing it for a while and it seems to be coming ever-more present in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Dingwall will talk through the game on Saturday, almost commentating at times. TNT Sport captured this superbly when Dingwall wore a mic for a couple of games in the 2023-24 season, which culminated in Northampton Saints winning Prem title.<\/p>\n Dingwall\u2019s role as the team\u2019s eyes and ears are shown in this mic\u2019d up footage of the centre<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t think of times when I couldn\u2019t want to be commentating,\u201d Dingwall says. \u201cWe mic up people in training at the club, partly as an education piece for younger players because it a skill that can be worked on, in the same way you can work on your catch-pass. Being clear and direct around what you are wanting from people and how you feed information.<\/p>\n \u201cMy favourite try I have been involved in with England was against Wales [in last season\u2019s Six Nations]. We broke and got to five metres out. Rather than playing direct through the forwards, I called for a ball out the back from Tom Curry. I passed to Fin who passed to Freeman who scored.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a try I was proud of because it is easy in those scenarios to keep it tight. But everything we had spoken around was having the attitude to move the ball to the appropriate space, irrespective of where we were on the field. That was a good example. <\/p>\n Dingwall featured against Wales and Italy at this year\u2019s Six Nations<\/p>\n TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND<\/p>\n![\"UEFA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/\/e0563e7b-1bd5-4f0c-8b2e-185b6ec22861.jpg\")
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