Gloucester number eight Ben Morgan insists he never gave up on playing for England again, having earned a recall to the side after a three-year hiatus.
Morgan last played for England at the 2015 World Cup and the 29-year-old says he made peace with the fact that he may never play for his country again, but at no point did he give up hope.
“I never gave up. That’s not me, not my character,” Morgan told Gloucester Live.
“I’d made peace with the fact I’d made my last appearance, but I’m not the sort of person to give up.
“I thought I’ll give my all and see what happens. Thankfully I made it back into the training camp.
“Last year when I was injured so much, I couldn’t even throw my name into the hat.
“When you’re injured and not playing, you don’t deserve to be up there.
“You have to prove you’re worth and why you’re there.
“It’s not about what you did previously, it’s about what you’re doing currently. Eddie wants to pick on form.”
Morgan endured an injury-plagued campaign last year, having torn his hamstring in pre-season. And he attributed his improved form to having had a good pre-season this time around.
“I had a pretty torrid last season with injuries and niggly things,” said Morgan.
“I sat down with Johan (Ackermann, Gloucester head coach) and in my mind I was focusing on pre-season and how could I develop myself for next year because I’d missed most of last season.
“My attitude to pre-season is that it’s a massive opportunity to get into shape because you’re not taking the impacts.
“Being able to do a full pre-season was a massive advantage. I was able to run quicker and farther is a testament to the S&C guys.”
Morgan is currently with England at their training camp in Portugal, with Eddie Jones set to name his matchday 23 on Thursday for Saturday’s Test with the Springboks at Twickenham.