Luther Burrell of Northampton. Photo / Getty
Luther Burrell has revealed a sense of betrayal at the way he was omitted from England's World Cup squad by Stuart Lancaster - who he had known since his time as a teenage prospect at Leeds.
After being left out of the final 31 in late August to pave the way for the inclusion of Sam Burgess, the Northampton centre has been painstakingly recovering from the 'heart-breaking' episode. He has not spoken about missing out on a place at the showpiece home tournament until now. But yesterday Burrell gave a dignified and emotive account of the events which threatened to divide the England squad and left him 'broken'.
There is no resentment towards Burgess, a fellow Yorkshireman who simply took the chance which presented itself. Instead, Burrell was angered by the way Lancaster made a selection decision which flew in the face of his mantra about the importance of so-called 'credit in the bank'.
"He let me down," said Burrell. "That is how I feel about him. I have known Stuart a long time. I have a huge amount of respect for the bloke, what he's done and what he has achieved. It was a tough decision for him. I don't know what went on in selection meetings. I have heard things afterwards.
"Ultimately, he was the man who picked the team and he didn't put me in it. I didn't think I had done anything to justify not getting selected. That was one of the most heart-breaking things, because I had trained well throughout the summer and I played well in the jersey.'
Despite all the months and years of meticulous planning, midfield selection went down to the wire before the final England squad for the World Cup was named. Burrell claimed that the 11th-hour doubt and uncertainty was hard to take.
Asked when he was informed of the decision, he said: "It was the morning of the announcement. I think I was first one in. He obviously wanted to get the tough one out of the way first. I remember it was eight o'clock in the morning. As soon as I walked in the office, I knew. I could see it on his face that he was hurting and I knew what was coming. I sat there and took it.
"He said the coaches had had a chat and said, "I thought you trained really well but we're going with Sam. Don't think this is the end for you. You will be back". Mentally, I was gone. I was broken. I was the one who was pretty broken down in that room."
Ordinarily in such instances, rejected players are told to stay on a state of alert - ready to answer the call if others are injured. That didn't happen on this occasion. "I didn't even get that message," said Burrell. "It was just, boom."
Briefly, in his shattered state, he considered making a swift exit. In the circumstances, it would have been understandable if he had fled the scene. Instead, he committed to one last training session and just about kept it together, despite being close to breaking down.
"I gathered myself," he said. "We had a session to do in the morning. That was one of the hardest things to do - to go into the training session and put on a brave face when inside I was absolutely devastated. We were playing five-a-side and I was running around trying to hold back the tears because I didn't want to get embarrassed around the lads."
Having left the England camp, Burrell was given time off by Jim Mallinder, Northampton's director of rugby. He needed to escape for a while, to clear his head. He spent some time in Amsterdam and elsewhere in Europe with friends from outside rugby. Their support helped him through, as did the backing he received from within the game.
"Everyone kept on top of me to make sure I was all right," said Burrell. "That was the most reassuring thing. A lot of them did reach out to me. I couldn't dwell on it too much. I knew I had to get behind the team because if an injury did happen, although I hadn't been told, I could have been there.
"I watched all the games. I know it didn't go to plan but I did still feel proud of the lads, for their efforts. I am very patriotic and I want to get back into that England team as soon as possible. It has been a rocky road but I'm back on my feet now, I'm flying and I'm really enjoying my rugby."
There is no ill-feeling towards Burgess. The pair have spoken since the fateful selection call was made.
"My issue wasn't with Sam," said Burrell. "He didn't put himself in the team. He got an opportunity of a lifetime, who would turn that down? He is a fantastic player. We have spoken and there is no grudge there."
In contrast, he has had no contact with Lancaster, but even those wounds will heal in time.
"I'm not going to hold it against him for the rest of my life," said Burrell. "I'm sure at some point we'll bump heads and have a brew. I've had to move on and mature. You have setbacks in all aspects of life and that was just one for me."
Now, he will set about trying to impress the new England head coach, Eddie Jones. For all the Test contenders around the country, the slate is clean. For Burrell, the future brings renewed hope. He will recover.
- Daily Mail