Cumbrian Mark Wilson described his first competitive England appearances in Argentina as the best experiences he’s had in rugby.

Wilson, who began playing Junior rugby in Penrith, started England’s 38-34 victory last month before coming on in the 35-25 triumph in the second Test.

An energetic flanker, the 27-year-old featured for England against the Barbarians in a non-capped game before the tour to South America.

He said: “If you had told me nine weeks ago that I would be coming back for pre-season with two England caps I would have laughed in your face first, then bitten your hand off!

“It’s funny how things work out but I’m not going to complain. I got invited down to Brighton for a training week with England in May, managed to do alright there and got selected for the Barbarians game.

“I got a decent 30 minutes off the bench and, through a mixture of injuries and Lions call-ups, it opened up an avenue to be selected for the Argentina tour.”

He told Newcastle Falcons’ website: “It was the best experience I’ve had rugby-wise, and the good thing was that Eddie Jones put me at ease before my first Test.

“He just said to go out and do for England what you do for Newcastle and that kind of calmed my nerves a lot.

“It helped me focus, and as a result, I didn’t think too much about the occasion. It wasn’t until after the game, hearing people’s comments, that I realised I had played a part in a game that had been so good to watch.

“It was a bit of a spectacle by all accounts but I was blowing so hard during what was a dry, hot day that I didn’t properly appreciate it at the time.

“After the game, getting my first cap was a massive honour and something that I can hopefully go and improve on.

“I’ve been given feedback by the England management about what I need to work on, and hopefully through my club form, I can challenge for future selection.”

Wilson, who was born in Kendal, returned to training recently and was greeted by an influx of summer signings, which include former Carlisle Rugby Club man Gary Graham and Toby Flood.

“The new lads look really sharp, they are adding a lot of top-level experience and one of the pleasing things has been hearing those guys talk in the meetings and during training about personal standards," he said.

“It’s exciting when you think about adding those guys in with the quality we already have, and it’s important also to recognise the guys who have been here for a while and contributed a lot to the recent improvements we have made."