In a recent installment of his examination of the brightest young talents in English rugby, Rob Douglas turns his entirely impartial attention to his beloved Harlequins. Here he profiles England Saxon back rower Tom Guest.

Guest has been around for a while having made his Quins debut in the friendly against the Natal Sharks at the Stoop on 10th February 2005. He has been groomed through the Academy, but he has struggled to varying degrees with a number of injuries. Still only 23, he is one of a number of young hopefuls in these competitive positions, such as Jordan Crane and of course, Tom Croft at Leicester, who all seem to possess an unnatural amount of speed on top of all the other essential physical attributes.

Since the glory days of Mick Skinner and Brian Moore, Quins have often suffered from a lack of power up front, and indeed their current front five flirts with the journeymen tag, but the back row is a different proposition. Guest looks set to star, and is just as comfortable on the blindside as at No. 8 so Nick Easter can relax, and they are well balanced by Will Skinner at openside, not forgetting the estimable Chris Robshaw.

Guest was typically assured in his England Saxons debut away in Rome this season, and personally I would be very surprised not to see his explosive brand of dynamism and pace included on the England tour this summer. His ability as an extra lineout option should not be underestimated, and despite the wealth of riches we seem to possess at the moment, he is being widely tipped as a future England No.8.