Mathew Tait says he relished the opportunity to wear an England shirt again in Sunday's win over the Barbarians at Twickenham.First capped as a teenager, Tait played in the 2007 World Cup Final and made the most recent of his 38 Test appearances for England five years ago, but was excited to share in a 73-12 win on Sunday in a fixture arranged as part of the Barbarians’ 125th anniversary season.
“I got a telephone call from [England head coach] Stuart Lancaster last week and travelled down with Ed Slater on Monday,” said 29-year-old Tait.
“There’s been a lot of hard work gone into this season and it is great just to get an opportunity to be involved.
“I was supposed to be involved in 2012/13 when we won the Premiership title and then last year with the Saxons against Ireland, but I had a back spasm in the week before the game. But it's been nice to get a full year this year with Tigers and nice to get an opportunity to put the white shirt on again.”
Tigers team-mate Slater was among the try-scorers as the England XV led 45-5 at half-time, with Marland Yarde, Jack Clifford, Danny Cipriani and Christian Wade (2) also on the scoresheet.
Wade completed his hat-trick in the second half, together with further scores from Henry Slade, Josh Beaumont and Cipriani in front of a 34,000 crowd.
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Tait delighted with England opportunity
1 June 2015 10:14 AM
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