Luther Burrell has revealed his sense of devastation at being left out of England’s Rugby World Cup squad, saying he felt “let down” by the then head coach Stuart Lancaster.
The Northampton centre, omitted from the 31-man squad when Lancaster opted to pick the rugby league recruit Sam Burgess instead, said he had no sense he was about to be dropped before being told on the morning of 27 August.
Burrell told the Telegraph: “I knew as soon as I walked into the office and saw Stuart’s face, which was hurting, that it was not good news.
“I was the first player in. Obviously, Stuart wanted to get the tough one out of the way first. I’ve known Stuart for 12 or 13 years. I have huge respect for him as a bloke and for what he has achieved. I know it was a tough decision to make. But he let me down. That’s how I feel about it.
“It was one of the most heartbreaking things in my life … I just didn’t feel I had done anything wrong. I had trained well all summer. I had done for the jersey everything I could. That was the hardest thing for me. I didn’t really listen much to what was being said. There wasn’t even anything about being on standby in case of injury, keeping involved. It was just ‘Boom’.”
Burrell described the morning training session that followed, saying: “I was holding back the tears. We were playing five-a-side football and I was running around trying to hold the tears in because I didn’t want to get embarrassed around the lads.”
He also said he had no grudge against Burgess, who has since returned to league with South Sydney Rabbitohs, telling BBC Northampton: “He didn’t put himself in the team. He had an opportunity of a lifetime and he was able to live that dream. He’s a player that grew up not so far from me in west Yorkshire so we’ve known about each other for a while. For me it was about wishing him the best of luck; my issue wasn’t with him whatsoever.”
Burrell’s focus is now on earning a place in the Six Nations squad under the Australian Eddie Jones. “It’s an exciting time for English rugby with a new coach on board,” he said. “I am very patriotic and I was cheering the team on right through the World Cup. I want to get back into that England team. I’m determined to give it my best shot.”