Gloucester fly half Burns looking forward to England's summer tour of Argentina
11:35am Monday 13th May 2013 in Sport
GLOUCESTER’S Freddie Burns might be the only recognised fly half selected for England’s summer tour to Uruguay and Argentina but that doesn’t mean he is about to take the No.10 jersey for granted, writes Paul Eddison.
Burns enjoyed another fine season in the Cherry and White of Gloucester this term, helping them book Heineken Cup rugby for the next campaign with a fifth-place finish, four spots higher than the previous year.
But, while Gloucester just missed out on a semifinal, Burns was able to get his hands on some silverware after winning the Gilbert Golden Boot, edging out Exeter’s Gareth Steenson by a single point, 240 to 239.
The only thing missing from Burns’ campaign was more international outings, the fly half unable to build on a December debut off the bench against New Zealand in the Six Nations due to a knee injury.
But all that is set to change this summer after England head coach Stuart Lancaster selected him for the tour to South America, so confident in his ability in the red rose No.10 shirt that he is the only out-and-out fly half with a plane ticket.
But, with Gloucester team-mate Billy Twelvetrees and Saracens’ Alex Goode also able to slot in if needed, Burns insists he is not letting himself get carried away.
"I can take a lot of confidence from being the only recognised fly half in the England squad but I know that Billy can play ten and so can Alex so I am under no illusions," said Burns, who has toured Argentina twice before with England’s U18 and U20 sides.
"I know I still have to apply myself in training and conduct myself in a manner that gives me that shirt regardless of whether there are other tens in the squad or not.
"It is a great opportunity for me and one that fills me with a lot of confidence, but all in all I have got to deliver as well, which is a big ask.
"I got my debut against New Zealand which was awesome and I was on cloud nine and gearing up for a Six Nations where you think you can have an impact.
"But I picked up an injury and that was the Six Nations over and you have gone from being on top of the world to being back down in the basement.
"So to be back in the squad and back available and looking to put that England shirt on again is a huge honour and I am relishing the opportunity."
Burns was joined at Thursday’s Aviva Premiership Awards Dinner by Gloucester team-mate Akapusi Qera, the flanker missing out on Player of the Year prize to Leicester Tigers hooker Tom Youngs.
But, despite seeing the gong slip through his fingers, the Fijian admitted it is missing out on a Premiership semifinal that still wrankles.
"You can see that we had a good season this time around and we have come up a lot and got Heineken Cup rugby next year which is good," said Qera.
"But overall we were gutted we didn’t make the top four as everyone thought we were capable of that. But we have to be happy, too.
"We had new coaches, new management and a new style of rugby and it suits the team. We adapted really well with it and beat some of the top teams.
"To come up with fifth is a big result, as it is Nigel Davies’ first season as the coach. It is just a shame we couldn’t be more consistent to get into that top four."
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