Rugby: Last audition for Cup role

Sam Burgess looked out of his depth playing for the England Saxons. Photo / Getty Images

Manu Tuilagi did more than wreck the wing mirror of a taxi during the late-night incident in April that cost him his international place.

The Leicester centre also put a large dent in England's World Cup planning. If Tuilagi had not been excluded by Stuart Lancaster as a result of his indiscretion, then the England head coach would not still be casting around for a centre with bulk, power and presence.

Sam Burgess is Tuilagi in a different guise: less experienced, less tricky, less pacey but seen as one with the potential to do damage.

He is on trial as England's go-to man for midfield punch, for decoy running, for causing bother with his physicality. Or that, at least, is the theory.

That Burgess has got this far with only six months of sharp-end match exposure to union is remarkable. Quite whether he gets any further was expected to become a whole lot clearer overnight (NZT) at Twickenham, where Burgess was set to make his full England debut against France.

It was rugby's equivalent of a Saturday night talent contest — the final audition, the judges' buzzer poised for green or red light.

Can Burgess translate a certain degree of promise into something of substance? Can he persuade those who do not believe he has the speed or wit to make the grade as a test centre, that he can thrive against the likes of Wallaby Matt Giteau, Jamie Roberts of Wales or All Blacks Ma'a Nonu or Conrad Smith, that he has what it takes?

The doubters are many, and with good reason.

His previous international exposure was for England's second string, the Saxons, against Ireland Wolfhounds in Cork in January. It was not a happy night for Burgess, a novice at club level never mind at that more elevated level and it showed. He was plainly out of his depth, hesitant and ineffective.

The one thing Burgess has in spades, though, is character. He does not shirk or falter. He has dealt with adversity all his life, nursing and then burying an ailing father at a young age. That sense of fortitude has carried him far, a grafting, down-to-Earth, humble and committed person, never mind rugby player. He will pick up that gauntlet.

He has improved and Lancaster was at pains to emphasise last week that he had earned the opportunity.

Fair enough. The unspoken element in the whole midfield conundrum is that all the candidates have flaws. All have points to prove, imperfections to correct.

Burgess may not be a player who can thrill with twinkling feet and sleight of hand but he has seen off the challenge of Bath team-mate Kyle Eastmond and dealt with the attacking threat of another teammate, Jonathan Joseph, among others, in lengthy head-to-head training sessions.

Burgess, though, has not had time to finesse what talent he has, to add a kicking element to his game. He does not have the feet and feel of a Giteau, even of an Eastmond. Lancaster even admitted one of his virtues was as a decoy running, attracting defenders, rather than as a potent runner in his own right. It was why a lot of eyes would have been cast his way overnight.