Simpson: I'm Gunnar be a supersub

Joe Simpson is on the verge of repeating Joe Worsley's feat of winning his first cap during a Rugby World Cup, but it is not the 2003 winner that he is looking to for inspiration.

The 23-year-old scrum half on Friday was named understudy to Ben Youngs for the Pool B match against Georgia at Otago Stadium.

And he said he would be taking a lesson from former Manchester United footballer Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as he warms the bench in Dunedin on Sunday.

Solskjaer scored 126 goals in 366 appearances for the English champions, but was renowned for hitting the target after coming on as a sub, not least in the European Champions League final win in 1999.

Simpson said the Norwegian's reading of the game from the sideline could boost his own performance when he gets his chance.

"I try to have a look at how the game goes. I try to think what I would have done in their situation so that when I come on, I'm not going on fresh," Simpson said.

Immediate impact

"You've played the 60 or 70 minutes in your head. It's something that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer used to do for Manchester United, and he was one of the best subs in the game.

"He used to play the match in his head and it was something that I really liked the idea of."

Youngs made an immediate impact when he came on for Richard Wigglesworth in last Saturday's 13-9 win over Argentina, scoring the only try of the match after peeling off the ruck.

"As a (No.) 9 you're sometimes a good option to bring off the bench and speed the game up, and it can make the difference in winning the game," said Simpson, who is one of the three fastest squad members alongside Delon Armitage and Ben Foden.

He also holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest pass of the ball, at 48mph or 77.25kmh.

"I like to think I can bring up the tempo of the game. It's tough for a scrum half to keep the tempo up for the whole 80," he said.

Bench support

"These days it's no longer a 15-man sport, it's a 22-man sport, so you need that support from the bench."

An injury to Danny Care catapulted Simpson into Martin Johnson's World Cup 30 last month, weeks after Wasps teammate Worsley, who made his debut during RWC 1999, was trimmed from the preliminary roster.

Simpson had already been on the verge of donning an England shirt for the 2010 Six Nations before dislocating his shoulder, and pulled a hamstring in a non-cap match against Barbarians before the subsequent tour to Australia.

"Obviously I was frustrated to pick up such a small injury at such a crucial time," he said.

"Luckily I haven't had any major injury problems in the last couple of years other than the shoulder injury."

His Solskjaer-esque reading of play was almost tested in the World Cup warm-up win over Ireland last month, and Simpson said he was more than ready to make his bow against Georgia.

"Exciting times. I got told a couple of days before it all got announced, so I've had time to prepare myself," he said.

Soft spot

"I was on the bench for the Ireland match and was meant to come on in the last few minutes, but unfortunately the ball didn't go out of play. I just want to get on the pitch and show this England side what I can do."

Simpson, who was born in Sydney and counts 'Skippy' and 'Dingo' among his nicknames as a result, has an English father and New Zealander mother.

He moved to Ealing in west London when he was two years old and appears almost pained at the slightest hint that he is anything other than English.

But he says he still has a soft spot for sport down under.

"I would have Australia or New Zealand as second or third choice," he said.

"But us English like an underdog, so if we got knocked out I would probably support the smaller team against them. But I'd look out for Australia and New Zealand in other sports."