England head coach Stuart Lancaster admitted on Thursday night that he was brought to tears over the decision to axe eight players from his 31-man Rugby World Cup squad.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Lancaster admitted that his decision to axe the likes of Luther Burrell and Calum Clark was one of the toughest decisions he has made in his coaching career: “It was unbelievably emotional announcing the squad – for me personally, but I’m sure for the players, particularly the guys who missed out.
“I know Luther’s mum and dad really well. It’s tough. That’s the nature of being head coach. You have to make tough decisions that you feel are right for the team.
“You could say the same thing about Calum Clark. We go back to when he was 14-years-old and I remember his parents driving him down to West Park Rugby Club in Leeds.”
Burrell will undoubtedly be disappointed to have lost his place to former Rugby League star Sam Burgess after being a spearhead in the English midfield during the last two Six Nations campaigns while many have criticised Lancaster’s decisions to omit Danny Cipriani, with former player Will Carling leading the criticism of the selections.
However, the decision to include Henry Slade has been widely praised as Exeter boss Rob Baxter believes that his player’s selection was justified. Speaking to BBC Sport Baxter said: “All I wanted people to do was believe what they saw with their own eyes,
“What England’s management has done is believe what they see and back the positives Henry brings.”
