It was only at the beginning of this year’s Six Nations that the squad lists of the Guinness Premiership were being scoured and scorned at for the dearth of English scrum-half talent.

The start of the championship coincided with the 10th anniversary of the death of Nick Duncombe, the player tipped to take an iron grip on the scrum-half berth for years to come.

His absence was keenly acknowledged this year in view of the argument that a lack of options at No.9 was hampering Brian Ashton’s ambitions for a game based on a more dynamic service from breakdown to back line.

Three games into the championship, it would seem that the No.9 production line that had a condemned sticker slapped on it less than a month ago has spluttered into life and is churning out candidates for a shirt that no one has been able to grasp with absolute certainty since Harry Ellis surrendered it due to injury last season.

On Saturday, the Leicester man made his return from injury with 20 minutes against Leeds, throwing his name back into a fight that, on closer inspection, involves far more protagonists than many would have you believe.

Down south at Harlequins, a full house filtered into the Stoop, past Duncombe’s statue, to see the latest name to be given an international chance, Danny Care, further advance his credentials with a display full of vitality that has enabled his side to arrest their losing slide and rattle off three wins in a row. On the bench sat Andy Gomarsall, a player who symbolised England’s resurrection in France last autumn but has fallen from favour as Ashton - and indeed his club coach Dean Richards - looks for a more sprightly presence behind the pack.

Down the A316 at Sunbury, London Irish’s training ground now houses Paul Hodgson and Peter Richards. One of them was on the bench at the Stade de France last weekend, the other very possibly would have been but for long term injury. Safe to say that Richards’ form on returning to his first club before his injury would have kept him firmly in the England picture.

At Sale, Richard Wigglesworth is still glowing from his debut in Paris last weekend. His clubmate and fellow scrum-half Ben Foden has been shunted to full-back, so is slinging his hook next year to almost certainly claim a starting spot at Northampton next season, whose promotion back to the Premiership is now a formality.

Throw in Shaun Perry at Bristol, Lee Dickson at Newcastle, Ben Youngs, Ellis’s young understudy at Welford Road, Wasps’ Joe Simpson, currently on loan at Blackheath and playing for England Sevens and Matt Powell at Worcester and you have 12 reasons to question the validity of the argument that overseas No.9s in the Premiership are stunting England’s options.

The shirt that might have been Duncombe’s is in safe hands.