LONDON: Northampton inside-centre Luther Burrell has replaced the injured Manu Tuilagi in England's squad for their tour of Australia, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) announced on Monday.
Tuilagi was ruled out of the three-Test series after tearing his hamstring in Leicester's English Premiership semi-final defeat by Saracens earlier this month.
Burrell, 28, was given a chance to impress in Sunday's clash with Wales at Twickenham and took it by scoring a first-half try in a 27-13 victory.
"It's a great opportunity for Luther, who played really well yesterday. He carried the ball well, defended with aggression and scored an excellent try," said head coach Eddie Jones in an RFU press release.
"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 in his fitness and conditioning as a result. He thoroughly deserves his place on the tour."
It marks a return from the cold for Burrell, who was omitted from England's World Cup squad by Stuart Lancaster and left out of the Six Nations squad after Jones deemed him "grossly overweight".
Burrell was selected ahead of the Exeter-bound Ollie Devoto, who will instead tour South Africa with the second-string England Saxons squad.
"It was a tough selection call," Jones added. "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."
England play the first of their three matches against Australia in Brisbane on June 11.
Revised England squad
Backs: Mike Brown (Harlequins), Luther Burrell (Northampton) Danny Care (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Owen Farrell (Saracens) George Ford (Bath), Alex Goode (Saracens), Jonathan Joseph (Bath), Jack Nowell (Exeter), Henry Slade (Exeter), Ben Te'o (Worcester), Anthony Watson (Bath), Marland Yarde (Harlequins), Ben Youngs (Leicester)
Forwards: Dan Cole (Leicester), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter), Jack Clifford (Harlequins), Ellis Genge (Bristol, on loan at Leicester), Jamie George (Saracens), Teimana Harrison (Northampton), Dylan Hartley (Northampton, capt), James Haskell (Wasps), Paul Hill (Northampton), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton), Matt Mullan (Wasps), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
Comments
Comments are closed.