Rob Purdham in line for England call against Australia
Last updated 13:11, Tuesday, 28 October 2008
Rob Purdham is in line for a call-up to the England side for the clash with world champions Australia on Sunday.
The former Haven ace was 18th man for the opener against Papua New Guinea – but coach Tony Smith is considering changes for the crunch match at Melbourne’s Telstra Dome.
And experts are predicting that Harlequins captain Purdham will get his big chance.
England boss Smith said: “There are probably going to be a few adjustments.
“We need to look over the Australia game first before we make a final call.
“Maybe if we see something we can exploit and we’ve got someone in the squad to do that we’d certainly consider that. I’ve never picked a team without watching the opposition first.
“It’s all about making sure our strengths are up to speed and exploiting weaknesses where they are in the opposition and we’ll do that throughout the week.”
Purdham caught the eye with a man-of-the-match show in the victory over Wales and has had a superb season for his club.
nENGLAND are sweating over winger Lee Smith, who picked up a foot injury as well as a hat-trick of tries in the 32-22 victory over PNG.
His former Leeds team-mate Mark Calderwood looks to be the obvious replacement.
