Saints switch was so vital for van Wyk as he sets sights on England spot

And the 29-year-old loosehead prop now has an England cap in his sights.

Van Wyk has been on an upward curve since switching to Saints from Western Force in 2017.

He initially signed a one-year deal but has done enough to ensure he is still a Northampton player three years on.

And though he was born in South Africa, van Wyk, who becomes England-qualified this month, would love to wear the red rose in the not too distant future.

“I’m English-qualified this month and that’s exciting because I’d like to have a good year now and hopefully things will work out for me,” van Wyk told the Rugby Paper.

“When I first came to England, I never knew how long I was going to stay and in my first year I was a bit nervous about whether I’d get contracted again.

“But once Chris Boyd arrived, along with our scrum coach Matt Ferguson, I stayed and they’ve helped me a lot.

“At Western Force I had injury after injury and only managed 20 games in four years, so mentally I was at a stage where I couldn’t deal with it.

"But coming to Saints has been the best thing ever for my career and I’ve played a lot of games in my three years so far.”

Van Wyk has emerged as a real challenger for Saints stalwart Alex Waller in recent years.

And those two will now be battling it out with new boys Nick Auterac and Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi in the weeks and months to come.

Van Wyk said: "Maybe in my first season here I would have doubted myself, but I feel I’ve got the backing of my team-mates and coaches now and I back myself to take that next step.

“Ferg (Matt Ferguson) has played a massive role in that and I’ve changed a lot of stuff in the way I scrummage.

"I used to be a bit old-school – the South African way if you like – but with the Saints pack we need to be technically very good in order to compete.

“We’re normally known as a smaller pack so on that technical side Ferg’s been influential, and I need to acknowledge my team-mate Alex Waller as well because he’s also played a massive part in my development.

“At this stage of my career I feel I’m getting better and better and if the opportunity ever came with England now, I’d grab it with both hands.”

Van Wyk, who has racked up 72 Northampton appearances, is enjoying the scrap for starts at Saints, who return to Gallagher Premiership action on August 16.

And he added: "Competition is good and going into nine league games, hopefully making the play-offs and with Europe as well, rotation is quite key for us at Saints.

“Personally, I’m the fittest I’ve been in years and as a squad we want to play fast, so hopefully the weather keeps nice and that will go in our favour.

"I’ll back our squad to go all the way this season now and hopefully we can end it on a really good note.”