Calum Clark is used to playing with fire. Now he’s hoping England can turn up the heat against South Africa in the semi-finals of the Junior World Championship.

In his spare time the 19-year-old Leeds Carnegie flanker enjoys practising the circus skills passed on by enthusiastic teacher Andrew Mollitt at Richmond School in Yorkshire.

Clark can ride a unicycle as well as juggling with flaming torches and knives, and impressed his teammates by doing the same with rugby balls at the side of their training pitch in Caerleon.

England will need that sort of courage and precision going into the televised game against South Africa at Cardiff Arms Park tomorrow night (9.10pm).

The Leeds Carnegie flanker is the youngest forward ever to appear in the Guinness Premiership and has continued to enhance his reputation with England’s Under 20 team in Wales this month.

Last Saturday his battle with Australia captain David Pocock – a Super 14 star with Western Force – earned the respect of opposition players and coaches alike.

“Personally speaking, I know my opposite number was regarded as one of the best up-and-coming players in the world and a year older than me,” said Clark.

“You want to test yourself against the best in your position and to be able and take him on and beat him on the day gave me a lot of satisfaction.

“There had been a lot of talk before the game about all the players who’d been involved in Super 14 and they’d been hyped up a lot.

“But it didn’t matter who they had on the day because of the strength of our side as a collective. Yes, individuals played well, but we beat sides because we’re such a unified team.”

While England were overhauling Australia 18-13 at Newport, South Africa booked their place in the last four with a 16-11 victory against a rugged Samoa side.

The Baby Boks look similar in style to the senior World Champions – a powerful and direct side with set-piece skill and some exciting runners out wide.

“They will have a very hungry pack, what you’d expect from a traditionally South African one, and they look very tight and very organised, tough and abrasive,” said Clark.

“The key for us will have to be about stopping their momentum. One of the massive positives about playing Australia for us was the amount of pressure we were able to put on their set-piece and if you do that most sides will struggle against you.”

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