Luther Burrell joins England teammates as Eddie Jones’ men prepare to set off for mammoth summer tour of Australia
Northampton star back on flight Down Under as Manu Tuilagi’s replacement after impressing Red Rose boss with fitness levels
LUTHER BURRELL will board England’s plane to Australia on Tuesday as injured Manu Tuilagi’s replacement.
The Red Rose squad will set off on the 10,000-mile trip to Brisbane with centre Burrell booking his ticket after a solid performance in the 27-13 win over Wales at Twickenham on Sunday.
With George Ford’s shocker against the Dragons it is likely that Saracens star Owen Farrell will take back the fly-half spot against the Wallabies in the first Test a week on Saturday.
That means that Burrell, uncapped Ben Te’o and Henry Slade are the likely contenders to start at inside centre.
Ready for war against the Aussies, Northampton Saints back Burrell said: “We want to pound the gainline.
"You are putting your body on the line and with the back-row Australia have, we are going to take some big collisions.
“It’s a high tempo, high intensity game plan that we want to have in place.
"We are going to have to work hard, the boys are going to have to dig deep to get some victories over there but we are quietly confident.
“It’s going to be a very tough challenge, England have won three in 17 games over there.
"It’s a huge challenge, we’re under no illusions but we’re in a brilliant position.
“Coming off the back of the Six Nations and the good performance today we have some momentum behind us but we need to work hard and play better than today if we are going to stand a chance of beating them.”
Burrell was a high-profile casualty going into last autumn’s World Cup as he lost his place to rugby league convert Sam Burgess.
The 28-year-old was then over-looked for England’s matchday Six Nations squad and has had to battle hard to get back into boss Eddie Jones’ plans.
He said: “The beauty of Eddie is he is a very honest bloke, if you’re not pulling your weight then he won’t beat around the bush, he will tell you.
“With me, he’s been in constant contact, he’s been brilliant with me and my development.
"He’s a fantastic bloke and the way we want to play, we want to be at the highest intensity and taking teams to a place they don’t really like.”
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Boss Jones added: “It’s a great opportunity for Luther. It was a tough selection call. Ollie Devoto has really impressed during his recent time in the England camp. We wish him a successful tour to South Africa with the Saxons.
“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.
“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 the tour.”