Six Nations 2012: Karl and Lee Dickson's England brotherhood built on sheer hard graft and determination Steve Dickson is just about to retire from the military after more than 30 years with the Royal Signals having seen service in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Both boys were born in different locations in Germany, which is where Dickson was posted again some two decades ago. "Karl didn't want to come back out to Germany from where we were in Manchester so we had to do a quick ring-around to find a school and he took to Barnard Castle," he recalls. It was by coincidence rather than design that it happened to be where the Underwoods had gone. We didn't know. The school, which was also attended by the Armitage brothers and Rob Andrew, served both boys well, with Lee praising the pastoral set-up as much as its sporting prowess for "making me the person I am today," notably diagnosing his dyslexia at the age of 13 and helping him deal with it to the point of passing all his GCSEs and A-levels. Karl, 29, is almost three years older so they did not ever play in the same side. In fact, they have only ever once teamed up, for an invitation side in the Nuneaton Sevens many years ago when the family was living in Lichfield. "Yeah, and I won player of the tournament, which Karl was gutted about," Lee says with a chuckle. He gave up rugby for four years after leaving school to do a sport and exercise science degree at Coventry University, concentrating on his football. We were typical brothers, always into each other, competitive in all sorts of sports and having a few fights along the way. We've grown very close, and it's been brilliant to see Karl get better and better, breaking through and really deserving his chance. Karl had a 24-hour call-up at the start of the Six Nations, drafted as cover for Lee when he damaged a finger. By the time Karl arrived in camp on Monday afternoon, the initial fears that his brother would be sidelined for a month proved groundless. "I had mixed emotions the first time because I felt for my brother," Karl says. I got used to the calls, and set my goals on making the squad for the tour to South Africa. It's been great to see what Lee has achieved. I never thought, especially on that occasion we played on the same sevens side, that we might one day be in England colours together. Karl knows that he will have to bide his time but he is now third in line behind his brother and Ben Youngs. If there is an obvious shared distinguishing trait, it is their cussed desire to get to the top. Karl had to win over the Harlequins management after joining from Bedford three years ago, at the very moment that the man who signed him, Dean Richards, became embroiled in "Bloodgate," the affair that saw him leave the club. Karl has had virtually equal billing with Danny Care this season. As for Lee, a highly-regarded middle-distance and cross-country runner as well as near international standard squash player, he had to persuade those who saw him as not quite having the blue-chip skills needed for test rugby. "I was always told I was too small, not fast enough, not powerful enough," says the Northampton scrum-half, the motor of the side and a key figure in their rise to prominence. I knew I could do it. I used all the criticism as fuel to go out there and do an extra couple of hours on my basics. And, yes, I do think I've proved people wrong. My job with England is to bring tempo into the game, to get the ball away from rucks as fast as possible and to get it into Owen Farrell's hands as quickly as I can. I have had a taste of starting, I've got the shirt and I want to do everything I can to keep it. It's going to be tough, I know, but I've been battling to prove things all my life. I'm not going to stop now. Neither is his brother. The Underwoods might yet find the Dicksons nudging them along the Barnard Castle wall.