ADAM POWELL believes he can cap a story book season by inspiring England to glory at the Under-19 World Championships in Dubai, which gets underway this week.

The 19-year old centre has been the discovery of the season for the Men in Black and is a shoe-in for the club's Young Player of the Year award.

Powell has made nine appearances after being plucked from the Academy at the start of the season and he is set to be one of the stars of the tournament, which gets underway next week.

"It's going to be a great experience," he said. "I think we've got a real chance of coming home with something really good.

"I went last year and it was awesome. I got quite a bit of game time and really learnt a lot. We lost in the semis but hopefully we can go one step further this time. I think we'll definitely get to the semis and from there anyone can win it. All the boys are really pumped for it and I think we stand every chance of winning it."

Powell will be joined in the squad by club-mates Tom Mercy, Ben Thomas and Andy Saull - further indication of the success of the Saracens Academy - and the quartet helped England to second place in the recent Under-19 Six Nations.

However, that was not enough to satisfy the hungry Powell, who led the side on two occassions from full back.

"It was a bit of a mixed bag, really," he said. "We had a lot of new people come in and out of the squad and we finished second in the end. It wasn't too bad and it was good preparation for the World Championships.

"I played a couple of games at full back but I think I'll definitely be playing at centre in Dubai. To lead the boys out as well was awesome. Nothing can really compare to leading out your country."

England rounded off the Championships with victory over Ireland that should stand them in good stead when they face the emerald isle on Wednesday. That is followed by games against Argentina (Sunday, April 9) and holders South Africa (Friday, April 14).

Should England reach the final, Powell will only be available for half of Saracens' remaining four games and needs to play in just one of them to reach take his appearance tally for the season into double figures.

That was something beyond his wildest dreams back in September and Powell admits he has to pinch himself sometimes at the speed of his meteoric rise.

"It's been a bit crazy to come from the Academy and get the first-team game time I've got," he said.

"I thought maybe towards the end of the year if there were a few injuries then I might get a chance, but, to be honest, it's been a whirlwind.

"Mike Hynard (the Academy Manager) and Tofty (Mark Mapletoft) ave been brilliant to me and Fordy has put a lot of faith in me.

"The likes of Hilly, Faz (Andy Farrell) and Thomas (Castaignede) have all really helped me out so I owe a lot of people really."