Dan Cole has chance of making England World Cup squad
Cole, 22, made his England debut as a 60th-minute replacement in Saturday's 30-17 RBS 6 Nations victory over Wales at Twickenham.
It marked a meteoric rise to the top for Cole after a handful of games for Leicester, and Wells says "the world is his oyster", a place on the plane to New Zealand next year a real possibility. "He has every chance at the moment," said Wells, a former Tigers director of rugby.
"If he continues to develop, both with his club and his opportunities for his country, and performs like he did on Saturday, he has got a great chance to put himself in the frame for World Cup selection."
Like Tigers head coach Richard Cockerill, Wells said it is early days for Cole, but he was impressed with his contribution last week.
Wells said: "It's too early to tell how good he could be. But what I can see is a guy who had been through the Leicester culture, he's a get on and get it done type of individual.
"He's not someone who is going to look for excuses, he's a hard-nosed operator.
"How good he can become as a player remains to be seen. Considering how big a step he has taken in the past three or four months, he thinks he can get a lot better and we think there is lots of potential for him to get better.
"The world is his oyster."
Wells was delighted with Cole's debut. "He contributed well when he came on," said Wells. "That's what you want replacements to do. For a young guy playing his first international you can't ask for anything more."
Cole said the worst part of Saturday was his initiation ceremony, which involves singing a song at the front of the team coach after the game.
Cole refused to reveal his choice of song and Wells said he could not remember it but he added: "Usually there's a lot of barracking, but the lads joined in.
"He wasn't blowing his trumpet about his first cap. He did a very good job, both on and off the pitch. He can be very proud of himself."
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