Sam Underhill thought his England career was over following injury

England Six Nations player Sam Underhill feared his time representing his country was at an end after being left out of the World Cup squad last year.

Despite this setback, he emphasizes his respect for his teammates and refrains from suggesting he deserved a spot more than them.

Initially omitted from Steve Borthwick's training squad, the Bath flanker was later called up to replace the injured Jack Willis. In the third-place play-off, Underhill earned the title of man of the match.

The win against Argentina marked Underhill's return to the England team after a 20-match absence. This hiatus stemmed from a concussion sustained during the second Test of the 2022 series against Australia in Brisbane.

“It’s been class to be back,” said Underhill, who is currently part of England's Six Nations squad.

“All I wanted to do was to get back into this team, and if I’m perfectly honest I was doubtful that that would happen.

“This is the first time I’ve done a full campaign with Steve, under him as a coach. I think I played the Aussie tour, then I don’t think I played again until the third-fourth play-off, which was 18 months.

“So, my aim personally was to get back here, and now that I am back, as a player you’re constantly looking for challenges, or things to go wrong or not be going that well. Whereas, actually, now I am where I want to be, and I obviously want to keep on improving, but I have taken a moment to say to myself, ‘hey, you’re doing it, well done’.

“This is exactly where I want to be, but now I’m back, I’m not content just to be here, I want to help this team win.”