England boss Eddie Jones points to sacrifices made by Luther Burrell as Northampton centre called-up for tour of Australia
England head coach Eddie Jones admits that Northampton Saints centre Luther Burrell’s abject refusal to accept his place in the international wilderness was key to his call-up for this summer’s three-Test tour of Australia.
Burrell was today announced as the replacement for Manu Tuilagi, who was last week ruled out with a torn hamstring, in England’s 32-man travelling party to face the Wallabies. The first clash takes place on 11 June.
The 28-year-old was controversially axed in favour of code-switcher Sam Burgess for last autumn’s World Cup, while he was overlooked for England’s Grand Slam-winning Six Nations campaign earlier this year.
“We want players who are desperate to play for their country and are willing to make the sacrifices needed to succeed at the highest level,” said Jones.
“Luther’s worked hard at his game since January and we’ve seen a significant improvement to his fitness and conditioning as a result. He thoroughly deserves his place on tour.”
Burrell, who has been given the nod over utility back Ollie Devoto, made a try-scoring return for England as the Red Rose defeated Wales 27-13 at Twickenham on Sunday in their final match prior to travelling Down Under.