(Reuters) – Saracens centre Alex Lozowski said he never gave up hope being recalled to the England squad after receiving his first call-up in six years.
The 31-year-old had been absent from the England squad since November 2018, but he has now earned a spot in Steve Borthwick’s 36-man roster for the upcoming autumn internationals.
Regular England outside center Henry Slade is set to play his first game of the season on Saturday for Exeter as he aims to demonstrate his fitness, but Lozowski may be called upon as a potential substitute.
“I am determined this time around to enjoy it – I really mean it,” Lozowski told the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
“I never gave up (on a recall). I kept doing my best and wanting to play my best to give myself a chance. Funny things happen in sport and in rugby,” he said.
Lozowski, who earned five caps under Eddie Jones since his debut in Argentina in 2017, was dropped from the squad after the Japan match a year later.
“Back in 2018 I was a younger player, more inexperienced, and I put myself under a lot of pressure potentially, and maybe I found it hard to actually really enjoy being in the England rugby team.”
“It was probably the one game if I could have another crack at and do it again then I would,” Lozowski admitted.
England will play New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday in the Autumn Nation Series.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk)
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