Bath hero Max Clark insists he has no regrets over turning down an offer to tour with Wales this summer

Clark played for England at under-20 level in the world championship final of 2015 and for the time being he is keeping the door to red-rose honours open

Clark scored twice on the opening weekend of the season (Getty)

Bath’s centre Max Clark insisted he had no regrets over turning down an offer from Wales to make a debut tour with them in the summer, after he stole the headlines from illustrious opponents Manu Tuilagi and Matt Toomua with two tries in his club’s win at Leicester on Sunday.

Clark played for England at under-20 level in the world championship final of 2015 and for the time being he is keeping the door to red-rose honours open.

But he was born in Bridgend to a Welsh mum and has now confirmed for the first time that he was approached by Wales’s staff to make the trip to face Tonga and Samoa in June.

“It's an open question and a tough one,” said the pony-tailed Clark after his pair of first-half tries in Bath’s first Premiership victory at Welford Road since 2003.

“I'm only 21, I am half-English and half-Welsh and I don't know where I want my future to go. It was put upon me and I thought that at this age I wanted to keep my options open. I didn't say no definitely, it was all quite sudden and I would never say never. My mum is still pushing me that way [towards Wales] and maybe there will be a few more questions at the end of the year. I just have to keep playing well for Bath.”

Clark knows the England scrum coach Neal Hatley well from the latter’s time working at Bath but the centre said: “I've spoken to him a few times and I know what I have to do - keep playing more games for Bath at this level.

Clark stole the show in Bath's thrilling win (Getty)

“Last year I was knocking on the door of the Bath squad. If I want to put my hand up for England or whatever international team then I think consistency at the top level is what I need to do. I can't peak one week then go missing for three weeks.”

The international qualification rules vary but Clark would be tied to England as soon as he represented them at Saxons level or to any country in sevens, whereas Wales’s “entry level” is at Under-20s.

For now the youngster who sent to school at Bryanston in Dorset can glory in outscoring Tuilagi, who was making his first competitive appearance for Leicester since New Year’s Day, and only his 39th for club and country since the summer of 2013, due to injury and suspension.

Tuilagi galloped to his first try in a year early in the match but was chasing shadows at times, understandably enough after his lay-off, while the incumbent England outside centre Jonathan Joseph demonstrated his renowned defensive nous for Bath.

“There were the normal nerves you get when a fridge is running at you,” Clark said of Tuilagi with a smile. “I thought with the way we defended as a team, we constantly put pressure on Leicester and we didn't give them a chance for George Ford [at fly-half] to pull the strings or Jonny May and Telusa Veainu to run at us. They are world class players, but I thought we shut them down on the whole.

“JJ [Joseph] very rarely misses a tackle, if ever. So playing next to him you feel very comfortable he will make a tackle no matter who he is up against.

“We have got off on the tight foot and it's great momentum going into playing Saracens this weekend. We know what Sarries are capable of – they have been at the top of the game for the last couple of years. Their tails will be up, but we will be confident back at the Rec and on our home patch.”