Whenever a Wales squad is about to be announced, there are always a couple of bolters thrown into the mix as potential shock call-ups.

And, this time around, it’s a little known teenager from the north west of England who has suddenly entered the frame.

According to a report in the Mail on Sunday , Wales want to include 19-year-old Sale No 8 Sam Moore in their Six Nations squad, which will be announced tomorrow.

It would certainly be a headline-grabbing selection, not least because he has already been named in England’s U20s party!

So we could be heading for one of those classic tug-of-war situations, just as we saw in the case of Ross Moriarty.

Moore has already represented England at U16, U17, U18 and U19s level, captaining the U18s, and now the U20s have come knocking.

But he also has strong Welsh roots. He was born in Cardiff and both his father and uncle - locks Steve and Andy - played for Wales.

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Even though he hardly has any senior experience with Sale, it’s easy to see why he would be of interest to the Welsh management because 6ft 5ins, 17st 3lbs No 8s like him don’t grow on trees.

He’s been on the WRU radar for a while given his dual qualification, with his performances in an international U18s competition in South Africa last summer, when he was player of the tournament, really ratcheting up their interest.

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Such is the impression he’s made, it’s understood he was approached by Wales ahead of the autumn internationals to see if would be interested in being involved in the senior squad.

At the time, he apparently said he wanted to keep his options open.

It remains to be seen whether Wales will now force the issue by naming him in their Six Nations party.

There is certainly a potential vacancy for a No 8 with Taulupe Faletau ruled out for the opening few rounds of the tournament by knee damage and Ross Moriarty having only just returned from a lengthy lay-off.

If Wales do want Moore for their Championship campaign, there are a couple of routes they could go down.

They could sound him out again and see if he’s ready to commit this time or they could just name him and see what happens.

That would undoubtedly be a bold move and one that would really set the cat among the pigeons.

It could obviously lead to potential embarrassment if he then turns down the invitation to join the squad and it is worth remembering he has grown up in the English system, making good friends at age grade level along the way.

Even if he doesn’t get the call from Wales and goes on to play for the U20s, that wouldn’t tie him to the Red Rose however, as it’s not the RFU’s binding team.

So the tug-of-war could go on for a while yet.

Moore is the son of three-times capped former Swansea second row Steve and the nephew of another ex-All White Andy, who won 26 caps.

He moved to England at a young age, with his former policeman father joining Orrell in 2002 after spells at Swansea, Moseley, Cardiff and Narbonne, before going on to coach Waterloo.

He was educated at Merchant Taylors’ Junior School in Liverpool and then Sedbergh School, a famous rugby academy in Cumbria, which produced the likes of Will Carling, John Spencer and Will Greenwood.

A talented all-round sportsman, he was Everton FC Academy player of the year, but has gone on to focus on rugby.

Having started out at Waterloo, where he played for the first team at 15, he joined the Sale Sharks Academy two years ago and has been racking up the representative appearances for England, ten in all.

Three of his international outings have been against the land of his birth, including a start in the U18 international at Ebbw Vale last March.

He scored two tries in that match, but still ended up on the losing side with Wales coming from behind to win 29-19.

His stock as a strong, skillful and fleet-footed forward has steadily grown and his potential was recognised by Sale handing him a five year contract last summer.

After missing the start of this season with an ankle ligament problem, he made his first-team debut away to Lyon in the Challenge Cup in October.

Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond is in no doubt over what he has on his hands, saying: “He comes with a magnificent reputation. His impact in games is massive.”

Clearly we are talking quite a talent here. Whether that talent ends up wearing the Red Rose or the Three Feathers in the Test arena remains to be seen.