Australia will be glad not to face Steffon Armitage, says Drew Mitchell

Armitage still exiled because he plays for Toulon

Steffon Armitage remains determined to play for England again (Getty Images)

If the drums have been beating ever louder on behalf of Steffon Armitage since the England coaches distanced themselves from picking the exiled flanker for the home World Cup, the noise hit new decibel levels yesterday when Australia’s Drew Mitchell brought the entire range of percussion instruments to bear on the argument.

“There’s a part of me that hopes Steffon isn’t included, because Australia are in the same pool as England and it’s going to be pretty tough,” said the long-serving Wallaby wing, who will play with Armitage for Toulon in this weekend’s all-French European Champions Cup final against Clermont Auvergne at Twickenham. “It strikes me that England don’t have anyone who plays his style of rugby. He would really add some value to them if they picked him.”

Mitchell, whose own chances of performing at the World Cup were revived when the Australian Rugby Union lifted its opposition to selecting overseas-based players, clearly believes that England should dispense with their policy of picking only from the domestic scene.

He also dismissed the idea that Armitage, not unfamiliar with behavioural issues off the field, might be a disruptive influence if he was recalled.

“It would be a bit of a cop-out and a real shame if they used that as an excuse not to pick him,” he said. “I think it would be quite naïve. If one guy came in and managed to upset the culture of the team, you’d have to question the strength of that culture.

“Steffon is a positive influence with us here in Toulon and he’s played consistently well for a number of years now, not just for one season.”

Stuart Lancaster, the England head coach, has yet to show the slightest indication that he is prepared to change tack and summon Armitage, and he is acutely aware that any such volte face might upset current squad members. James Haskell, Tom Youngs, Tom Wood and Nick Easter have all had something to say on this issue, none of it supportive of a switch in policy.

Another of England’s “missing” back-row forwards, the Gloucester No 8 Ben Morgan, is making a sound recovery from the serious leg fracture he suffered against Saracens just before the Six Nations. He had a final bout of surgery last week and is, according to the club’s rugby director David Humphreys, “ahead of schedule” in his bid to regain full fitness for the World Cup.

Morgan was more cautious, saying: “I desperately want to get back and put myself in contention, but I might get a couple of months down the line and think that realistically it won’t happen. I’m not going to do anything that might be detrimental to my health. I have to look after myself.”