LOOSEHEAD prop Val Rapava Ruskin will be eligible to play for England later this year, according to Worcester Warriors’ high performance director Nick Johnston.

The Georgian-born powerhouse made 17 Aviva Premiership appearances for Warriors last season, scoring two touchdowns.

Ruskin’s father George played international rugby with Georgia but it would appear the 23-year-old is eyeing an opening with the Red Rose.

Ruskin, a former back-row forward, played for the Georgia under 19 age group side and has previously been offered a chance to play for the senior Georgian squad.

A new eight-year £225 million funding agreement between clubs and the Rugby Football Union (RFU) encourages the development of English Qualified Players (EQP).

Each Premiership club will receive a multi-million-pound payment each season from the RFU – but only if they meet the strict criteria relating to the number of players in their squad who are eligible to play for England.

Johnston said Warriors were committed to producing players for selection for the England national team.

Johnston said: “We had five players at England under 20s last year and below that we had 17 age-group internationals.”

“There are also people like (Nick) Schonert (who is already EQP) and Ruskin who becomes EQP qualified in December,” said Johnston.

“They have been performing at the top level. We want people to come through because it’s great for the club, fans and the local community.”

Ruskin moved to England at the age of two and played rugby in his junior years at Blackheath before moving to South Africa when he was 17 to play for Western Province.

He trained with French giants Toulon from June 2013 until February 2014, Ruskin.

During his debut campaign for Warriors, Ruskin made 23 appearances in the Greene King IPA Championship, crossing the whitewash on seven occasions.