Kay keeps England hopes alive

Leicester's Ben Kay has refused to accept his England career may be over.

Leicester second row Ben Kay has refused to accept his England career may be over - despite his axing from the squad for the Six Nations.

At one time tipped to be a future England captain, Kay is just one of a number of players who have failed to reach the same heights since the 2003 World Cup success.

A terrible run of results since that 20-17 victory in Sydney has seen England slump to an all-time low in the rankings and suffer the embarrassment of losing to Argentina at Twickenham.

England's poor run saw Andy Robinson pay with his job, with new coach Brian Ashton now handed the task of trying to revive the fortunes ahead of their Webb Ellis Trophy defence in France.

And although there is no place for Kay in the new regime, the 31-year-old is not willing to quit the international stage.

He told the Daily Mail: "Unfortunately, I'm never going to be a good enough player to make the decision about when I retire from international rugby.

"That decision will be made for me by the coach who says, 'Right, you're no longer good enough. Thanks very much'.

"As long as there's an opportunity to play for England, as long as I'm still enjoying the game, I'll do everything I can to get back because it means so much.

"If that's not the case and I only get to play for Leicester for the rest of my career, well it's a pretty good job at a pretty good place."