And following his transfer to the Stoop last summer, Clegg has played understudy to New Zealand international Nick Evans, where he has often been reduced to just cameo appearances from the replacement’s bench. 

But Clegg finally emerged from the shadows last weekend during the 14-11 victory over Worcester, as he held his nerve to boot a late penalty from the halfway line and hand Quins a much-needed Guinness Premiership win. 

And now he is in possession of the Quins’ No.10 jersey, Clegg insists he won’t be giving it up lightly. 

“It’s been frustrating at times because I haven’t played too much but you have to expect that when a player like Nick Evans is in front of you in the pecking order,” said Clegg 

“He’s one of the best in the world but when I get a chance – like I did last weekend – I want to make sure I take it. 

“Sitting and watching Nick from the sidelines in matches and then training alongside him during the week is only going to improve my game. 

“It was the same with Jonny at Newcastle – just being on the same training pitch as him was a valuable insight. 

“But I want to be my own player – I want to take bits out of Jonny’s game and Nick’s game in order to get better and hopefully I can do that.” 

Clegg’s virtuoso performance against the Warriors last weekend was just the fifth time he has completed 80 minutes for Quins since his summer move. 

The rookie was only handed the jersey after Evans failed to over come the knee injury he picked up against London Irish last month. 

But despite his lack of first team experience, Kiwi Evans insists Clegg has the potential to take the rugby world by storm and has pinpointed him as a future England international. 

“Rory’s one of those guys who is eager to work and we get along and train well together,” said Evans – in his second season with Quins. 

“It’s good to see that when he gets his chance he runs the team well. It was a scrappy game against Worcester but he did the basics well. 

“He kicked the goals when he needed to kick them and got the win for the boys – he worked with arguably one of the best in the business under Jonny Wilkinson at Newcastle and it’s obvious he picked up something. 

“I’ve been very impressed with him this season - I remember when I was young I was pretty nervous and didn’t really want to say anything. But he has the confidence to speak his mind and that is good to see.”