Healey's in World Cup last chance saloon

Austin Healey tonight classed himself as “an outsider” to make England’s World Cup squad.

The Leicester star is among a handful of players looking to convince England coach Clive Woodward that they should travel Down Under when the Six Nations champions face Tests against Wales and France later this month.

While Woodward has a firm idea of the names who will comprise most of his 30-man party, there are still vacancies for the likes of Healey to contest.

Healey though, is also a realist, having regained full fitness following a season that was ravaged by injury.

He last played for England in the record 53-3 victory over South Africa last November, when he won his 50th cap, but an Achilles injury then ruled him out of England’s entire Six Nations campaign before a serious knee problem ended all hope of making the summer tour to New Zealand and Australia.

A player of Healey’s quality is surely someone that Woodward cannot overlook, but such is the quality currently at his disposal, that Healey himself is taking nothing for granted.

“I am an outsider to go to the World Cup, and I need to produce some outstanding performances in these forthcoming games to go,” he said.

“I will give it maximum effort, and if I get selected for the World Cup I will be amazed and overjoyed.

“I think that I am outside the Last Chance Saloon on my horse at the moment.”

Healey could well feature when England go on their travels to Cardiff on August 23 and Marseilles seven days later. Woodward is due to name his World Cup squad on September 8.

Woodward tonight made it clear that Healey, who has played in a variety of positions for his country, is being considered as a scrum-half.

That has put him into direct competition with Matt Dawson, Kyran Bracken and Andy Gomarsall, with only three of them set to make the World Cup cut-off.

“We are looking at Austin as a scrum-half,” Woodward said.

“There is scope for utility players, but he is out training with three scrum-halves with Nigel Melville, and he is here to try and be picked in the 30 as a scrum half.”

Healey added: “I have been working towards playing as a scrum-half – it has been a long-term aim.

“There are three other exceptional scrum-halves in this group, and I know that I have to play as well as I possibly can, if given the opportunity.”

England’s players today completed their latest World Cup training camp in Surrey, and can now look forward to a 10-day break before meeting up again to prepare for the Wales match.

“The players are all working very hard, based on their individual fitness programmes,” Woodward said.

“These three games against Wales and France (twice) are very important to us, and I know that we will arrive in peak condition, come October.”

Woodward expects all 43 players in his current group to be available for the Welsh game, and he tonight underlined the significance of the warm-up programme.

“The guys have got to be on top of their game. They’ve got to go out there and play really well.

“I want to be able to use all 30 players in a World Cup – players who are ready to go, and not based on reputation.”