Luther Burrell: England players under pressure ahead of World Cup
Thursday 20 August 2015 15:49, UK
Luther Burrell accepts there are several England players whose World Cup places have been put in doubt by the team’s display last week.
Stuart Lancaster's side beat France 19-14 at Twickenham last weekend with outside-centre Henry Slade and full-back Alex Goode impressing in a good team performance.
Slade's No 13 jersey has been handed to Jonathan Joseph for the second half of the double-header in Paris, with Burrell inheriting the 12 position from Sam Burgess.
Both players will look to make an impact in the French capital but Burrell admits the pressure has been applied by last week's victory.
"The boys did a fantastic job last week and that's put the pressure on the ones who are playing on Saturday," he told Sky Sports News HQ. "But there's no better place to test ourselves than in Paris.
"It's a strange one because as a group of players we are quite united and we couldn't help but be proud when we were watching on the sidelines last week.
"We showed that we are a backline that has a lot of flair and can attack from all over the field. I don't have to do anything out of the ordinary. For me it's just about sticking to the game plan and I know that from the experience of playing so many games.
"All I can control is how well I play and put pressure on the coaches to make the tough decisions."
France have selected their first-choice centre pairing of Wesley Fofana and the fearsome Mathieu Bastareaud for the game in what is a very strong starting XV.
They are part of 12 changes Philippe Saint-Andre has made to his side and will provide a stern examination of the capabilities of England's centres.
"They are two fantastic players and with Frederic Michalak at fly-half it's going to be a real challenge for myself and Jonathan against that backline," he said.
"If we come through that on top then we will have put ourselves in a very good place."
Joseph and Burrell will be under the microscope in Paris as the positions they play are among the most keenly-contested in the squad.
"Luther and I played well together in the Six Nations and we felt we went well, so we're looking to back that up," said Joseph, the star of England's Six Nations campaign.
"But Henry and Sam played very well and complimented each other. Slade's vision, handling and kicking games are outstanding. He played really well considering it was his first cap.
"The key for me is to progress as much as I can and never take a backwards step. I'll just try to keep getting better.
"Playing Fofana and Bastareaud is a great challenge for us, but we're very excited about it."
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