He may well have only got a few minutes but in the pictures I saw this week he looked as proud as punch parading around in his red cap on Saturday evening.
As mentor Dorian West said in the press this week, it is a shame that Dylan did not get mor
e game time as he would have added an extra dimension to the game, but then starting hooker Lee Mears could not be faulted for his efforts.
In a way that should be an even greater spur to the young Saints player.
The guy in the starting shirt playing well with the youthful protégé on the bench chomping at the bit to replace him.
Dylan will surely rise to the challenge and become a better player because of it and not only will England profit, Saints will too.
In the game at Murrayfield our Scottish trio were on the end of a clinical, if not totally convincing, lesson by the All Blacks. The downside was a hamstring injury to Sean Lamont, the upside Euan Murray's display – arguably the pick of the Scotland team.
Scott Gray also got a late run in the back row and despite the defeat must have been pleased with his effort back on the big stage. This weekend Scotland will be hoping for better things against a South African side that looked far from convincing in beating Wales, while England take on Australia at Twickenham in the Cook Cup.
Italy ran Australia close last Saturday in Rome and England must have an eye on the win against the Wallabies.
From a Saintly point of view, it would be good to see Dylan get more game time and, given England are starting with the behemoth props Vickery and Sheridan either side of the smaller Mears, we might just get our wish.
The full article contains 335 words and appears in Northampton Chron & Echo newspaper.
