England Rugby World Cup Squad 2015: Sam Burgess Named Among 31-Man List
Rugby league convert Sam Burgess has been named as part of coach Stuart Lancaster's 31-man England squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup less than a year after making his transition to the sport.
The ex-South Sydney Rabbitohs star has been selected as one of Lancaster's four centres alongside Jonathan Joseph, Brad Barritt and Henry Slade, as confirmed by the official England Rugby Twitter account on Wednesday:
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Ben Morgan also makes the squad to provide cover at No. 8, while Anthony Watson, Jack Nowell and Jonny May get the nod as wingers, but fly-half Danny Cipriani has fallen short of Lancaster's requirements.
Burgess made his international debut at inside centre in a 19-14 win over France at Twickenham two weeks ago, despite playing the majority of his club rugby career so far in the back row.
The 26-year-old's inclusion comes at the expense of Luther Burrell, with Rugby World writer Ian Stafford hinting that perhaps the Northampton Saints star was deserving of a spot:
Burgess was signed by Aviva Premiership outfit Bath in October 2014 and scored four tries in his 16 Premiership appearances last season, which saw him tried out at flanker, No. 8 and in the midfield.
However, ex-England captain Will Carling doesn't agree with Lancaster's selection and calls the pressure on Burgess "unfair," per the Press Association's Duncan Bech (via the Daily Mail):
"I'm in awe of Sam as a rugby league player, but there is no one that I have spoken to who I respect - ex-players, coaches - who thinks he's ready. I don't understand what the rush is and it's unfair on him. I feel sorry for him. If he wants to make it in union, there's plenty of time.
He's been playing union for 10 months and half of that was in a different position to what England are playing him in. He'll hit you hard if he can line you up and he's a great guy, but I don't believe he's one of the four best centres in England. He was functional against France and wasn't a disaster, but there was nothing that made me think "wow". I thought Henry Slade had a far bigger impact than Burgess with his touches and the way he read the game.
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Lancaster will seek to prove Carling's doubts wrong, as tournament hosts England prepare to open their World Cup campaign in the "Pool of Death" against Australia, Wales, Fiji and Uruguay.
Another benefit to bringing Burgess is that he can offer back-row cover in the event the likes of Chris Robshaw, Tom Wood or James Haskell suffer injury.
Barritt and Joseph stand to be England's first-choice midfield pairing come kick-off, but it will be of huge interest to see just how the newcomer Burgess responds under the spotlight of a nation's expectations.
Another big call to come from Lancaster included the omission of the versatile Cipriani, who dazzled in a cameo outing against France last Saturday. World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward detailed his disappointment at Cipriani not making the cut in his Daily Mail column on Wednesday:
"I am disappointed for Danny Cipriani — and the World Cup — that he has been left out of England’s squad. World Cups are about seeing the very best players in action and he is one of those. This should have been Cipriani’s World Cup — he only had one shot at it. He’ll be 31 by the time the next one comes around.
Cipriani has the X factor, an amazing player, and I’d have had him in the England team a long time ago. And I’d have picked him at No 10 — he’s not a full back.
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The Sale No. 10 does bring the added advantage of being a capable presence at full-back or perhaps even at inside centre, but it seems Lancaster prefers the specialist fly-half options of George Ford and Owen Farrell.
It was an 11th-hour decision over which No. 8 would play as backup to Billy Vunipola, and Morgan did enough to surpass Nick Easter and make the 31-man list.
Morgan's inclusion comes after he made his international return in the Twickenham win over Les Bleus, his first England appearance since breaking his leg while on club duty with Gloucester in January.
He's been preferred to the experience offered by 52-cap Test veteran Easter, who at 37 years of age, could have been the oldest player included by a gap of five years—scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth, 32, is the oldest player named.
Prior to his horror setback, Morgan was making waves as England's first-choice No. 8, superseding Vunipola in the England pecking order, a rich vein of form he's hoping to regain in time for the World Cup kick-off.
Also included in Lancaster's squad is rookie hooker Jamie George, who came off the bench during the defeat to Les Bleus last Saturday to make his England debut.
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