And the Adams Park outfit must be grateful he turned his back on athletics, having made a devastating impact in the sport as a teenager.

Wallace smashed the national U14 record in the 400m – clocking 50.1 seconds – before making his decision to concentrate on rugby.

And Wallace, who made his Wasps debut against Gloucester in November 2009, insists his experience on the track has helped him become the player he is now.

“I was quite serious about my running back in the day,” said Wallace. “But once I started playing age group rugby, I decided to take a little bit of a backwards step with my athletics.

“When I was younger I was quite a slight lad – still the same height but the perfect weight for 400m running. I did a bit of 200m as well, but nowhere near as seriously.

“But it may be something I wish to carry on in the future as you can always utilize things in your running with how you play the game.”

Wallace has represented England at all age groups - including tours to Argentina, Australia and South Africa with the U18s – and, like club teammate Christian Wade, remains involved with Mark Mapletoft’s U20 squad.

And having seen his former England age group teammates Courtney Lawes and Ben Youngs establish themselves on the international stage on England’s tour down under this summer, Wallace admits he has sights on emulating their achievements.

He said: “Every young player aspires to play for their country and seeing the likes Courtney and Ben in the senior team is a great inspiration for me.

“Knowing them on a personal level, as a friend, it is nice to see them develop and see if I can follow their footsteps.

“The Premiership is very good for allowing young players to come through and thrive in the environment, and we are seeing more and more with youngsters – especially young English guys – are coming through and proving themselves.

“And for someone like me, it’s great to see players such as myself being given the opportunity and coaches having the trust in you to go out there and showcase what you’ve got.”