Freddie Burns played an instrumental role in downing the Exiles © PA Photos

Enlarge

Related Links

Matches: London Welsh 25 - 31 Gloucester Rugby

Players/Officials: Freddie Burns | Nigel Davies

Tournaments/Tours: Aviva Premiership

Teams: England | Gloucester Rugby

Gloucester's chief Nigel Davies has tipped Freddie Burns for an England call-up after witnessing the young fly-half turn in a match-winning performance for his side.

The Cherry and Whites downed London Welsh 31-25 on Sunday at the Kassam Stadium and Burns received rave reviews for his role in the win. He was sin-binned earlier in the match but re-appeared to play a key role in the match-winning score. Seizing on turnover ball, Burns spotted the space to combine brilliantly with wing James Simpson-Daniel and pave the way for Shaun Knight's clinching try.

His role in Shane Monahan's opener was equally impressive as he broke out of his own 22 before taking a quick tap penalty with the Welsh defence snoozing to allow the winger to get over.

The battle for the England fly-half berth is an open one with the likes of Owen Farrell, Toby Flood and Burns all laying some claim to earning the starting jersey against Fiji on November 10. And Davies, who worked with Welsh fly-halves Rhys Priestland and Stephen Jones at the Scarlets, believes Burns has all the attributes necessary for international rugby.

"I have worked with a lot international 10s and he is certainly up there that's for sure, and the fact he has been able to mature at this level for a couple of years has certainly helped him," Davies said of Burns. "As a 10 it's not all about you, it's about the team and how you run the team and he is starting to do that for us now.

"He is playing exceptionally well, there is no doubt about it. A game like this can be very difficult for you if you don't get it right at number 10. But for large parts of the game he controlled the game, put us in the right areas and he was a constant threat.

"His goal-kicking is improving all the time and his out of hand game management and kicking is excellent at the moment too, so he is really maturing."