England centre Jonathan Joseph admits he’s desperate to prove a point as he travels to South America as part of a 31-man squad for two Tests against Argentina.
The 21-year-old centre didn’t feature for England during the RBS 6 Nations, with Billy Twelvetrees, Manu Tuilagi and Brad Barritt sharing the starts in the centres during the competition.
Joseph had to watch on during a difficult season with London Irish, who he will be leaving this summer to join Bath.
However despite not being a regular starter for the Exiles, Stuart Lancaster showed faith in Joseph in the absence of Tuilagi – on British & Irish Lions duty – and Joseph is keen to take the opportunity presented to him.
He said: “I still feel fairly new to the squad, but there are a lot of young and uncapped players coming through in the squad and I think that’s great for them. I wish them all the luck and hopefully they’ll take their opportunity if they get it.
“It shows that Stu has a lot of trust in those boys because they’ve performed for their club week in week out and they’ve been given this opportunity to put a marker down for competitions in the future.
“I think it’s exciting and we’ll see a lot of boys fighting for position and come game time it’ll be an exciting team.
“Every time you come into this setup you are always trying to prove a point and every training session, every game you’re always being watched and everything you do is noted so everyone comes in knowing what to expect and they give it their all.
“There’s nothing more you can do. You have to be training hard and if you are lucky enough to be playing at the weekend then you give it you’re all there as well.
“I was obviously very lucky and very excited to get the nod and be out here and I’m excited to be back in this world class set-up. It’s a great opportunity to keep learning and to keep developing my game.”
England got their summer off to the perfect start this weekend with a 40-12 win over the Barbarians, running in five tries.
Joseph started alongside Billy Twelvetrees in the centres, a partnership that could see more action for the two Tests against Argentina and the warm-up game against a South American XV this Sunday.
And in the very different weather conditions, Joseph revealed that he will be taking measures to ensure he can cope with the elevated temperatures.
He added: “If you aren’t properly hydrated then you won’t have the ability to perform at your best. When it’s hot and humid, like it will be in Argentina, you lose body weight at a much quicker rate through sweating than when playing during the winter in England.
“On match days I always drink Lucozade Sport as the electrolytes in it help with hydration and it also contains carbohydrates that keep me going right up to the end of a game.”
Jonathan Joseph is representing England Rugby, who are fuelled by Lucozade Sport. Lucozade Sport Fuels and Hydrates you better than water. For more information visit www.lucozadesport.com
