After England's poor showing in the recent Six Nations, perhaps more needs to be done to promote grassroots and junior rugby, in order to find the stars of the future.

Here in the North East, and I have no doubt it is repeated across the country, a whole group of players with fantastic talent and natural ability are overlooked because the focus of attention always seems to fall on the big clubs like Tynedale, Alnwick and Gosforth. Clubs with huge memberships and reputations.

The smaller clubs are just as capable of producing and nurturing talented young players, yet no one ever seems prepared to watch these young lads and give them a chance to prove themselves at a higher level.

Take a look at county selections. How many players are from Blyth, Ashington or Seghill? Does this mean that clubs like these don't have players capable of playing at county level? I think not.

Take Seghill as an example. A small club with a long and fruitful history going back to 1921. This club has a thriving junior section with several players more than capable impressing in any side in the county. - but sadly, they are repeatedly overlooked.

Two such players at Seghill are Dean Cavaliero and Nick Heard. Both have an exceptional talent and the potential to go far - given the opportunity.

Cavaliero, who plays at U14 and U15 level, on the wing or at centre, has scored 19 tries so far, in this, his debut season at Seghill. This includes five tries in the last game against North Shields. This try scoring record is repeated for his school side. He has a fantastic turn of pace, and the strength to shrug off tackles and break through defences.

Heard, who will move into the colts side next season, plays at number 8. Know as Mr. Versatility by coach Mick McLean, he also plays at flanker and has successfully provided cover at almost every position on the field. He has been in inspired form, not only this season, but arguably, has been Seghill's outstanding player for the past three seasons. Earlier this season, he captained a team of mainly 16 year olds, to the semi finals of Northumberland U18's 7's tournament - their first attempt at 7's. He is a text-book tackler, with immense strength, he out tackles everyone, every game. He is also a powerful runner and prolific try scorer, who shrugs off tackles. He marshals his team mates and controls plays.

These two young lads don't just impress in the odd game - they do it week in, week out and at training too. The are always on the receiving end of favourable comments and praise from opposition coaches. What could they do in a county or academy side - with a whole team of equally talented players?

There are other players at Seghill I could mention, and no doubt other sides can cite players with similar talent. Such as Stephen Harvey at Percy Park and Ben Raine and Keiran Hanlon at Sunderland, and many others that those of us who watch junior rugby every week take notice of. How can we make sure that these youngsters get an equal chance to get the recognition, and opportunities to showcase their talents, that they deserve.

Surely, it is time that the players at every club, not just the select clubs, were give an equal opportunity to show to they are just as talented and could be the Falcons or England stars of the future. Yes, all the clubs get asked to send their star players to county coaching camps, but the players who will go forward to play for the county have nearly always been pencilled in, and the smaller club's players rarely even get looked at.

In an ideal world, it should only be a matter of time until players with the potential of Cavaliero and Heard are noticed by county selectors or academy coaches, but the tragedy is they are likely to be overlooked simply because of the club they play for.

Many will say that these youngsters should move to one of the big clubs, if they want to show what they can do. But why should this be necessary? Why should some clubs be favoured more than others? If they did move on, many of the smaller clubs would suffer, and some would close. This cannot be good for grassroots rugby, of for the future of rugby union as a whole.

There is so much good, young talent out there, just waiting for someone prepared to look to new sources for the stars of the future. After all, the next Wilkinson, Flood, Noon or Tait could be overlooked simply because they don't play for one of the select clubs. Can anyone truly say this is good for our game?