England's Sam Burgess ready for Wales clash, says Mike Catt
Sunday 20 September 2015 20:23, UK
Sam Burgess is ready to perform if selected to start England’s next World Cup match against Wales, according to skills coach Mike Catt.
Burgess staked his claim for a place in the starting line-up against Warren Gatland's side on Saturday, after impressing when he came off the bench in the 35-11 win over Fiji last week.
The 26-year-old's direct running helped re-establish momentum at a time when England were beginning to stutter and Catt has every faith Burgess can deliver if given a starting berth.
"What we saw against Fiji we've seen all along from Sam," former England utility-back Catt said. "We know what he brings.
"We back Sam. Sam's job on Friday was to come off the bench and cause the opposition problems and that's exactly what he did. He's a big-game player and a great competitor."
When asked if Burgess, who has spent only 10 months in rugby union after switching codes, would cope with starting against Wales, Catt replied: "Yes".
England name their team on Thursday morning with head coach Stuart Lancaster hinting strongly after the bonus-point victory over Fiji that changes will be made.
"There will be certain individuals who will be disappointed with their performances against Fiji, but there's a lot of experience there to pull each other through and really give it a go," Catt said.
"Richard Wigglesworth, Owen Farrell, Mako and Billy Vunipola - the whole bench came on and made a huge impact. From our point of view it's exactly how we wanted it to unfold.
"The guys will come into camp and we'll see how they train. We haven't made any decisions yet.
"We know that defensively we'll have to make sure we're good in certain areas against Wales to stop their big runners off first phase.
"We're massively excited about this game on Saturday. It's exactly what the World Cup is about. It will probably be the biggest game a lot of the guys have ever played. It's very, very exciting."
