Saints scrum-half Archie so happy to achieve his goal as he returns from injury

It seemed his breakthrough campaign would conclude on the sidelines, but the 20-year-old remained determined to ensure that wasn't the case.

Though he couldn't quite get back in time to feature for Saints, McParland made it his mission to return in the shortest time possible so he could play for England at the World Rugby U20 Championships.

And he succeeded.

McParland made his comeback from injury with a 20-minute cameo from the bench in the 56-19 opening-day success against Scotland Under-20s in Verona on Sunday.

It was a nice moment for a young player who showed real promise during his 15 appearances for Saints during the first half of the season just gone.

"That's the thing with sport, especially rugby - the highs are highs and the lows are lows," McParland said in an interview with this publication earlier this week.

"But before I got injured, I had a really good season and I was really happy with where I progressed to.

"I'm really grateful for the opportunities I've been given with England and Saints, but it's the side of sport that you could be feeling like you're doing really well but then you get an injury and your whole season changes.

"It has been very tough, especially watching matchdays, seeing Saints go out in front of massive crowds.

"Being on the sidelines has been tough but I'd hope I've become a better player for it. We'll wait and see."

McParland was forced to call a halt to his campaign after coming off in England Under-20s' clash with Ireland Under-20s at the end of January.

He explained: "It was a shoulder injury and I basically snapped off a bit of a fragment of bone in the socket of my shoulder so it was very unstable and kept on slipping out when I would tackle people.

"I actually went into the Ireland game injured because it had happened five times before where it had come out - twice in the first half against Harlequins - so I went into the game hoping it would be alright.

"I spoke to the surgeon before the Ireland game and he told me I could have a crack at it and that it wouldn't really cause me much more damage than what had been caused already.

"He said to see how it goes and hopefully it holds up, but unfortunately it didn't really hold up and I was lacking a bit of confidence going into tackles because I was thinking about my shoulder popping out so by that time it was a good idea to get it sorted out."

Discussing his recovery process, McParland said: "The surgeon basically said it was five to six months, due to my age being under 21.

"When I found that out, I looked at the schedule to see when the World Cup was and it was pretty much exactly five months.

"I've been working hard with the Saints physios and S&Cs (strength and conditioning team) to get me back in time for it.

"I was able to do bits of training – passing, kicking and fitness – early on, but it was just that contact element which I had to lay off for some time, but it's all good now.

"It was really important for me to have that goal (of playing in the World Championships) because if I didn't have that, I would have gone into pre-season and ended up not playing until September for the pre-season games.

"It was really good for me to have that goal and something to work for.

"It was my first long-term injury and it does get very hard at some times, but having that goal and aiming towards the target is really good."

McParland returned to training for the final session of Saints' season.

And he is now loving life as part of the England squad this summer.

"I only played the first half of the season and was really happy with how it went in terms of my progression and the confidence I got from playing at the top level in men's rugby," he said.

"It's great to be out here in Italy now with a different bunch of lads in a different team and going for the main goal of winning the World Cup.

"Top of the list is winning it, but it's really important for me to get that game time and get more minutes under my belt."

Saints scrum-halves are calling the tune for England as Jonny Weimann got the nod at nine last Sunday, with McParland on the bench.

The duo are close friends, having recently lived together.

"He (Weimann) was actually my housemate - we shared a house together for the past year," McParland said.

"He's a great lad and a great player, and he's taken his opportunities very well.

"In rugby there's loads of injuries – I've had my opportunities at Saints through other injuries – and when one man is down you've got to take your opportunities.

"He's done well when he's had them."

McParland has now moved out of the Academy house he shared with Weimann and centre Billy Pasco and he will be co-habiting with George Hendy when he returns from England duty.

Hendy saw his season end with a shoulder problem.

And McParland said: "We've had exactly the same injury so I'll be helping him when I come back."

McParland and Hendy are part of a huge core of talented young players at Saints.

And McParland is looking forward to helping the black, green and gold group shine next season.

He said: "I can't wait! I'm really looking forward to next season.

"As a squad we're really young, we're developing and forming this really tight connection.

"Next season we've got a great opportunity to do something again.

"I can't wait to be involved with it."