Tom Wood can be England captain - Saints' Jim Mallinder

Wood played in England's wins over Georgia and Romania at the World Cup

Northampton Saints director Jim Mallinder says that Tom Wood is one of a number of candidates from the club who could captain England.

The 24-year-old back row featured twice during the 2011 World Cup.

"It starts with how they perform at the club, not in what they say but what they do, and people wanting to follow them," Mallinder told BBC Look East.

"Tom is one and Dylan [Hartley] another, and it's good to have them talked about."

Mallinder added: "We don't call [Tom] captain but he's one of the leaders in the team.

"He leads the line-out at times and in certain parts of our game. He's not overly noisy but he says what he's thinking - he's very honest and up front.

"There's no reason why he or any other of our England players can't be captain."

Playing just over an hour in total in New Zealand, Wood started against Georgia and came off the replacements' bench against Romania, and has admitted to frustration at the lack of opportunities.

"Whenever you go to a tournament, it's hard on those not in the 22," said Mallinder.

"Tom has come back frustrated, but he's got to put that behind him and use his frustrations to benefit himself and hopefully us."