England head coach Stuart Lancaster has revealed that he will give a number of Northampton Saints players a chance on the international stage in order to help them recover from their agonising Aviva Premiership final defeat.
The Saints were beaten 37-17 by the Leicester Tigers at Twickenham on Saturday, which caused their English contingent to miss their country's 40-12 win over the Barbarians on Sunday.
Stephen Myler, Luther Burrell, Courtney Lawes, Lee Dickson, Ben Foden and Tom Wood have all now joined up with England ahead of the Test series in Argentina, and boss Lancaster is hoping to help them get over their final heartache.
"My job is to pick them up, give them a clear target going into next Sunday and get some of them motivated to play again," Lancaster told Sky Sports News. "The likes of Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood, Lee Dickson, I thought they put in an unbelievable shift and I want to make sure they come back to England and get back on the horse.
"I want to make sure everyone has an opportunity to play but I will prioritise the Tests. Stephen will probably get a go next week and then Freddie [Burns] will be back in the equation.
"I was really pleased for Ben. He has come back into form too late for the Lions but he was exceptional. It was a big step up for Luther. That was the biggest stage he has played on by a long way and he handled it really well. He is excited about coming into the England set-up for the first time."
England will face a combined South American team before the two-Test series against Argentina.
Matt Cotton
