England assistant coach Andy Farrell tried to downplay the seriousness of the injury yesterday but the suspicion is the 24-year-old will miss the Twickenham showdown. “If he’s not, then it’s only a week-long injury”.
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Ben Morgan must come through a fitness test today after taking a bang to a knee but,
if he fails to recover, Billy Vunipola will start and James Haskell will be elevated to the bench.
Morgan did not train with England on Monday.
Stuart Lancaster is set to announce his team for the Wales clash on Thursday morning.
Burgess impressed in his short time on the field during England’s 35-11 victory over Fiji in the World Cup curtain-raiser last Friday, and he could start at inside centre in a selection that will force Saracens’ Brad Barritt to switch to the 13 shirt.
The 26-year-old Burgess has played just one season of rugby union since helping the South Sydney Rabbitohs win Australia’s NRL Grand Final, where he won the man-of-the-match award after playing on with a broken cheekbone.
“When we picked the 31-man squad we were confident that everyone could do a job for us and we have to make sure everyone is comfortable in starting”.
“Everyone gets super-excited about the partnership of the centres”.
“Normally, we deal with a variety of matters (with diplomats from other countries) in negotiations and it’s important that we can also get together to talk about a different topic”. “We’ll do what’s right for the team”, added Farrell Sr.
He said: “His first game back was very good against Ireland. If he can’t, it’s not fair to the team and not fair to JJ, with the lack of preparation, to pick him”.
“I’ve never been to Twickenham before, and if selected it will be a great opportunity and one I look forward to”.
The New Zealander must decide whether to retain an out-of-form Alex Cuthbert on the wing or go for 20-year-old Newport Gwent Dragons back Hallam Amos, while the hooking berth is a straight battle between Scott Baldwin and Ken Owens.
“We’ve just got to focus on the task in hand, and there is no better opportunity to come up here and play England in their own back yard”, Wales flanker Dan Lydiate said.
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Warren Gatland may be forgiven for not expressing too much sympathy for Lancaster’s personnel issues with Wales now experiencing something of an injury crisis.
