If Morgan – who scored two tries against Australia, one of England’s Pool A opponents, last autumn – can make his presence felt, both he and England will be mightily relieved.
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“Obviously we know we are playing for places and there is a World Cup just round the corner but, ultimately, all I can do is go out there and give it my all and do as much as I can for the team”.
“We will see if he can translate what he’s doing in training, which is clearly good otherwise I wouldn’t have taken this chance to look at him against France“.
Wood was captain of England on their two-Test tour of Argentina in 2013 and will win his 37th cap as Stuart Lancaster’s charges start a series of three games leading into the Rugby World Cup. Also, there is a physical element in some of the back divisions out there, especially defensively, that has to be considered. “This is a team to look at options for us”.
England number eight Ben Morgan has spoken of his anticipation ahead returning to action when France visit Twickenham this weekend.
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs) and Sam Burgess (Bath Rugby) combine in midfield to win maiden England caps from the start while Exeter Chiefs hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie is primed to do so from the bench.
Apart from the centres the remainder of the backline is set to be present at the World Cup, although wing Anthony Watson is the only guaranteed starter when the tournament opens against Fiji on September 18.
No. 8 Ben Morgan is back from a broken leg for his first England appearance in 2015, while Tom Wood will captain the team in Chris Robshaw’s absence.
Nick Easter remains a fine, clever player but has slightly different strengths, while James Haskell and Tom Wood play most of their rugby on the flanks. I’m confident I can go out there and play to the level I expect of myself. If you spend months in a gym, that’s bound to happen.
All the players have something to prove, with Morgan having to illustrate that he can survive high-tempo match conditions after so long on the sidelines and the likes of Danny Cipriani keen to show that he can fill that utility slot as a fly-half-cum-full-back.
It’s now or never.
“We’ve got in mind a length of time we want to see him on the field, which is appropriate to the amount of time Ben’s been off”, he said. Don’t forget, his last rugby league match for the Rabbitohs was the NRL Grand Final, where he won the man of the match award after breaking his cheekbone in the first minute. “There is no question of his pedigree, his temperament or his composure”.
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“To come in and learn a new code is a hard thing to do and he has done it effectively at Bath”.
