Gloucester's Charlie Sharples out to prove he can cut it with England It all sounds so simple: young kids re-energising English rugby and getting Twickenham folk on the edge of their seats once again. Of course, Lancaster's way can also be seen as naive and idealistic. Sharples rejects the notion that the youngsters will be cut slack by the public. "This is not a no-pressure situation for us," said Sharples. We're not there for the hell of it, chosen just to go out and entertain. That's nonsense. We've got to perform. Sure, it may be a good time to be a young English player but, even if there is an eye on long-term development, you can't just write off the present as some sort of experiment. Once you pull on that England shirt, there can be no excuses. Sharples is vying for a starting spot with the two other wings named in the EPS squad, Ashton and David Strettle, both of whom are more experienced. A fine performance this evening in the Heineken Cup tie against Harlequins at the Stoop would boost his chances. He is a different sort of player to the other two wings. Ashton has thrived through his work rate and jack-in-the-box ability to pop up in unlikely positions while Strettle is strong in the hips and able to wriggle his way through tackles. Sharples is more classical in his approach. "Of course, a wing has to work off the ball but essentially I see myself as a finisher," said Sharples, who name-checks his Gloucester colleague, wing James Simpson-Daniel, as an influence. If ever there were a living-proof warning to an aspiring England player of the difficulty of making it at the highest level, then Sharples need look no further his pal at Kingsholm. Simpson-Daniel announced himself as a rare talent when rounding Jonah Lomu at Twickenham. That was in 2002. A first cap soon followed. Only nine more have been won since then. "You can't be content just to be in a squad," said Sharples, who also revealed his promise at Twickenham, scoring a hat-trick in a schools cup final as a 16 year old, generating the headline "Champagne Charlie," a tag you feel he does not much care for. He was born in Hong Kong, where his father was stationed as a doctor in the military but was reared in Surrey and the west country. A dual registration stint with Moseley in his late teens opened his eyes to the rough-and-tumble world of adult rugby. "Whipper-snappers who fancy they know it all soon get put in their place," said Sharples. The rough edges acquired will stand him in good stead in the coming weeks. The boys have to become men pretty damn quickly.