A NEWTON ABBOT rugby hero has been selected to carry the English flag onto the pitch for tomorrow’s vital World Cup clash with Wales.

Former All Whites full back James Longhurst, whose parents live at Kingsteignton, will be marching on to the Twickenham turf with the national colours alongside fellow armed services personnel just minutes before the big game’s kick-off at 8pm.

Thrilled James admitted: ‘It’s a chance of a lifetime.’

He and four army chums from the Royal Tank Regiment will proudly hold the flag while the national anthems are played.

‘I’m looking forward to it – but I won’t predict the result. I’m not jinxing it,’ he said.

He and his fellow flag carriers were selected through a tiny slice of luck and their proven ties with the great game.

Mates at the Newton Abbot club are delighted that he has been accorded the honour.

Club chairman Keith Maclean said: ‘Everyone here is so pleased for him. It’s a great honour – a really big deal.’

Jimbo, as clubmates call him, is stationed in Winchester and lives in the North Petherton area where he plays for the town’s second team.

Now in his 30s, he earned a place in the All Whites’ hall of fame when he kicked the winning penalty to secure them the Devon Cup in 2004 for the first time in 80 years.

He still turns up at the end of the year to play in the club’s Christmas fixture.