Aussie Kieran Longbottom pledges his allegiance to England

Australian prop Kieran Longbottom has set his sights on playing for England, declaring it would be an “absolute honour” to don the red rose jersey at Twickenham.
Longbottom joined Saracens from Super XV outfit Western Force over the summer and made a huge impact on debut with the part he played in his side's 39-0 Double Header drubbing of Harlequins drawing attention from the England selectors.
The 28-year-old tighthead is already England-qualified courtesy of a grandparent born in Halifax and Sarries forwards coach Alex Sanderson believes Longbottom is more than a match for England regulars David Wilson and Henry Thomas.
Having been spurned by Australia, Perth-born Longbottom would relish the challenge of representing England. He told The Rugby Paper: “The opportunity of international rugby with England would be an absolute honour. If that comes along I'll take it, give it 100 per cent and the passion it deserves, there's no doubt about that.
“I can understand the heritage and history associated with England and playing at Twickenham made it sink in.
“It was pretty amazing for me playing there. I did a post-game interview and said ‘impressive' four or five times, so you get a flavour of how it left its mark on me. It's an awesome stadium, really cool, and I'd love to get more chances to play there.”
Sanderson has no doubts about Longbottom's potential to take the next step, telling TRP: “He's a bit off Dan Cole at his best but he's up there with all the others and I believe he can challenge Davey Wilson and Henry Thomas.
“We looked at him through the Super XV season, and he got better and better under the tutelage of Michael Foley.
“He's relatively lightweight for a prop, but technically he's very good and around the field his mobility is superb. We look at our props first for scrummaging ability, but his workrate is massive and he's got everything you'd want.
“He's got a season to prove himself and I've spoken to (England scrum coach) Graham Rowntree about him.”
Aussie props get a bad rap in England, but Salesi Ma'afu is a Premiership champion at Northampton and Longbottom wants to follow suit.
He said: “Salesi and I are good mates, having played together for the Force, and he's been doing well here. Hopefully, I can be another Aussie prop to do well.
“European scrums are considered the best in the world so I hope to become a better player and progress my career in England.”
On deciding to turn his back on the possibility of Wallaby selection, Longbottom added: “I went along to a few training sessions but I never got an official call-up.
“I could have busted a leg or something waiting for them to call but the opportunity with Saracens landed on the table, so let's take it and get on with it.”
NEALE HARVEY