Joe Launchbury chasing England place after injury-laden 2015
Tuesday 5 November 2019 13:31, UK
Joe Launchbury wants to be a central figure for Eddie Jones' England after an injury-interrupted 2015.
The Wasps lock missed last year's Six Nations with a neck injury and only returned in the World Cup match that confirmed England's exit - the defeat to Australia - after Geoff Parling and Courtney Lawes were preferred.
Launchbury was named in Jones' first squad since succeeding Stuart Lancaster and is available for Wasps' Champions Cup clash with Leinster this weekend, determined to show his worth ahead of this year's Six Nations.
"Over the last year, missing out through injury and then at the World Cup, perhaps not playing as much as I would like, means I'm desperate to play for England," Launchbury said.
"My focus is on trying to win the shirt back. It's a new era for us as players. There's lots of young, exciting players named in the squad. But for myself, personally, it's a huge challenge.
"I'm really excited about getting in, working with Eddie and his team. I'm pretty happy with the way I'm playing. I'm just loving being back out on the pitch.
"I missed far too much rugby last year and, for me, my goal is just to try to play as much as I can and really get back to enjoying my rugby."
Launchbury missed Wasps' last-gasp defeat to Toulon last Sunday with concussion despite passing the required protocols, as Wasps director of rugby Dai Young opted to give him more time.
But Launchbury is in contention for Leinster's visit to the Ricoh Arena on Saturday, where Wasps hope to seal a place in the quarter-finals from a challenging group which also includes Bath.
"It's really important for us to move on," Launchbury said. "As a club we've been building towards it for a long time.
"We can talk all we like about the off-field ownership and everything moving in the right direction. For us we need to start doing it on the pitch. The first step is these big games and then moving on to bigger things and knockout rugby."
