England forward George Burgess has hit out at the growing contingent of Australian players looking to play for England under Wayne Bennett.
Burgess, speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, insisted that England have a strong enough team as it is to not be relying on Australians looking to switch their allegiance.
A number of Aussies have been linked with a switch to England, including the Morris twins and Darcy Lussick, who recently went public in admitting he would be interested in switching to England.
But Burgess has said the whole thing is “wrong” if the reasons for switching are not genuine.
“I think it’s wrong when some Australian players think they can walk into the England team if they are eligible,” he said. “For me that’s not the point of playing for your country.
“We’ve got a strong team at the minute and we are hoping to contest for a final spot at the Four Nations.
“It’s tough competition to get a spot in the team at the moment and no one can just walk in to it.
“I mean every case is different and some players have genuine interest in representing their country through parents who are English. But I think if you are doing it for the wrong reasons, I don’t think it’s right.”
