Marland Yarde: England wing aims to improve at Harlequins

Yarde has scored four tries in his five appearances for England

England winger Marland Yarde says his move to Harlequins will help his development as a player.

The 22-year-old, who started all three Tests against New Zealand last month, has joined Quins from London Irish on a two-year deal.

"A lot of the guys here are building the spine of the England team at the moment," he told BBC London 94.9.

"I can learn from these guys as they have played at the top level for a long time now. It is not a bad place to be."

He continued: "It is a real good environment to be in and learn from guys who have played for England before like Ugo Monye, and people like Nick Evans as well.

"It's a lot to live up to but it is a challenge I am excited about and one I want to embrace."

St Lucia-born Yarde came through London Irish's youth academy and made his debut for the club in November 2010.

After representing England at Under-16, Under-18 and Under-20 level he made his full international debut against Argentina in June 2013, scoring two tries.

Harlequins director of rugby Conor O'Shea was crucial in Yarde's decision to leave the Madejski Stadium.

"Conor has been brilliant from the first time I met him," Yarde said.

"He made his intentions clear about where the club is going and how I would suit the club. Once I sat down and had a think about it and realised his vision of where he wants to take the club, it was the perfect fit for me.

"There are some fantastic players here. There are young guys who have had exposure for Quins like Charlie Walker and Ollie Lindsay-Hague and are pressing claims. That can only be good for the long-term for the club.

"Everyone is pretty excited about what the future holds and our goal is to be better than we have ever been before. We are going to be there or thereabouts at the end of the season."

Yarde scored two tries on his international debut against Argentina last summer

Yarde, who has won five international caps so far, scored two tries against the All Blacks this summer and believes the confidence he has taken from the tour will help him settle at the Stoop.

"You don't really get harder games than playing New Zealand in New Zealand," he added.

"Being able to show I can perform against the best team in the world was massive for me. I am not the type to rest on my laurels and I look to get better all the time.

"It suits me perfectly here at Harlequins. The goal of the team is to improve and be better and that can only drive me as an individual but also us as a team.

"If we can all collectively get better by 2-3% then we know come the end of the season we will be a really hard team to beat."