JERSEYMAN Matt Banahan is continuing to impress in the Guinness Premiership with Bath RFC – and how!

Not only is the towering winger the top try scorer in the top flight league games with eight, he has also impressed the statisticians from Opta in many other areas of his game – all in his debut season with the current league leaders.

Former Les Quennevais and Highlands student Banahan has been in and out of the Bath side, but only because of his blooding at international level with the England Sevens squad, who have travelled the globe for World Series points.

He’s not involved with the next round in Hong Kong this weekend, but that may well be just a case of ‘job done and move on’ judging by the comments of England Sevens coach Ben Ryan.

Said Ryan: ‘Sevens is part of the process to develop players for England’s future senior squads. The emergence of Danny Care, Ben Foden, Matt Banahan and Tom Guest from this season’s squad show we’re another aid for improvement within the elite game.

‘For me sevens is part of our overall strategy to get the best out of our young players and together with age group excellence, premiership academies and the Saxons, sevens is often part of that package to accelerate and achieve more England players ready to step into regular Premiership action and beyond.’

Banahan, tipped by some top pundits for a Six Nations debut this year, but given additional Sevens experience instead, has been ticking all the right boxes. He has ten tries in all for Bath this season (as well as England Sevens scores) and that, obviously, is the most impressive.

But checking further down the lists can only add further weight to calls for a senior cap. He may only have one Premiership try more than Lesley Vainikolo, one of the current England wingers, but he outstrips him convincingly in other areas. He is tenth in the ‘ball carried’ section, having taken the ball forward some 718 metres; fifth in the beating defenders category, with his 34 close to joint No 1 Anthony Allen of Gloucester’s 38; and a tremendous joint first in the clean break section, sharing that honour with Bath team-mate Nick Abendanon on 16.

Bath could go clear in the Guinness Premiership tomorrow by winning their away fixture against Sale Sharks – the team Banahan scored his first try against earlier in the season.