Rugby World Cup: After an embarrassing first act, Sam Burgess now faces the hardest audition of his life

Fully charged: Sam Burgess gears up for tomorrow’s clash where he hopes to make his case for inclusion in England’s World Cup squad
David Rogers/Getty Images
14 August 2015

Stuart Lancaster’s desperate need to replace Manu Tuilagi’s wrecking ball ability means Sam Burgess faces the most difficult assignment of his career.

World Cup places are on the line when England host France tomorrow in their first warm-up match for the tournament but the spotlight will shine brightest on Burgess given the circumstances surrounding his Test debut.

With Tuilagi banned from the squad after a night out in Leicester resulted in convictions for assaulting two female police officers and damage to a taxi, Lancaster has been forced to fast-track Burgess into his World Cup plans.

The 26 year old has played just 17 games for Bath at centre and flanker since switching from rugby league in October and his only international union experience to date was embarrassing.

In January, Burgess appeared totally out of his depth as the Irish Wolfhounds made the England Saxons centre a bystander. That performance remains a worry for a player who was regarded as the best forward in league but is now tasked with shackling the French backs, a collection of individual talents capable of creating outstanding tries from broken play.

What Burgess is attempting cannot be underestimated; he is entering the rarefied atmosphere of international rugby union where the game is played at break-neck speed and split-second decisions must be made under intense pressure.

Lancaster acknowledges that his back division needs a punishing ball carrier and that is where Burgess could fit in — particularly if used off the bench against a tiring opposition — in the final quarter of matches.

“What I’ve said all along is that we need a balance in our backline, a balance of ball players, carriers and finishers,” said the head coach. “Sam ticks the box as a ball carrier. That’s why he’s there to be looked at as an option in that position.

“Often when he plays for Bath, whether that’s as a centre or at six, he is not in the line-out, he is used more as a threat at the line. Bath’s power runners would often attract defenders and, as a consequence, you can play the ball out the back.”

With so much attention on 6ft 5in, 18st Burgess, his fellow centre Henry Slade has been able to prepare for his own Test debut in relative anonymity.

The Exeter utility back can play centre or fly-half and his left-foot kicking off the tee and out of the hand is highly rated by the England coaches.

Lancaster revealed this week that only one of these midfield Test rookies is likely to make the final 31-strong squad that will be named by the end of the month and if Burgess fails to impress, then Slade’s cause will be boosted. When England played France in March they won an amazing game 55-35 but fell just short of the points difference needed to stop Ireland retaining the Six Nations title.

Lancaster would like a repeat of that attacking flair allied to a much better defensive performance which again puts the focus firmly on that midfield duo of Burgess and Slade (below).

Northampton flanker Callum Clark also makes his debut in a back row featuring No8 Ben Morgan, who has returned to action after eight months out after a broken leg.

Captain Tom Wood admits all of the squad face the dilemma of wanting to promote their own World Cup case while also sticking to the agreed game plan designed to give England a winning start to their warm-up matches.

Alex Goode will be one of the many players looking to get the balance right because this is his chance to show he is a genuine alternative to the fit-again Mike Brown but also a better back-up No15 than Danny Cipriani, who starts on the bench.

England would like to include the mercurial but inconsistent Cipriani in the final 31 but finding a secondary role for the fly-half is key and that would have to be as a full-back.

Goode’s strong counter argument is that he started as an outside-half and could fill in that position as well as cover at full-back.

This is just one of the many sub-plots in an England team that have to win tomorrow to get their World Cup challenge on the right track.

Tomorrow Sky Sports 1, 8pm

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