England tour of Australia: Luther Burrell called up as Eddie Jones hits out at fans who booed George Ford

Luther Burrell has been rewarded for his try-scoring performance against Wales by being called-up to the England squad to tour Australia, with head coach Eddie Jones selecting the powerful centre to replace the injured Manu Tuilagi in his 32-man side.

Burrell scored England’s opening try in the 27-13 victory over Wales on Sunday to get the hosts back into the game, and although his partnership with fly-half George Ford and outside centre Jonathan Joseph didn’t gel as much as the trio will have wanted, he still came out of the match with plenty of positives after a year in the international wilderness.

The 28-year-old was left out of the Rugby World Cup squad – with former head coach Stuart Lancaster selecting Sam Burgess instead – as well as the Six Nations Grand Slam success at the start of the year, but Tuilagi’s absence has allowed Burrell to stake his claim in an effort to face the Wallabies next month.

"It's a great opportunity for Luther, who played really well yesterday. He carried the ball well, defended with aggression and scored an excellent try," Jones said following the Twickenham encounter.

"We want players who are desperate to play for their country and are willing to make the sacrifices needed to succeed at the highest level," Jones said.

"Luther's worked hard at his game since January and we've seen a significant improvement in his fitness and conditioning as a result. He thoroughly deserves his place on the tour.

"It was a tough selection call. Ollie Devoto has really impressed during his recent time in the England camp. We wish him a successful tour to South Africa with the Saxons."

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Even though he was left out of the original squad, Burrell stands a good chance of starting the first Test against Australia on 11 June, given Ford’s nightmare afternoon in kicking at goal. The Bath fly-half missed six of his seven attempts at goal, allowing 14 points to go by the wayside, and it drew criticism from the Twickenham crowd which ranged from gasps of despair to booing of the 23-year-old.

Jones has been quick to support the No 10, and hit out at those who deemed it acceptable to jeer the stand-off when they could have supported him, with the Australian coach admitting that the sport needs to ensure bad habits such as booing doesn’t become a regular sight in the game.

"That's not very nice is it? We have got to be careful of that in rugby," Jones said. "He's a tough boy. I'm not worried about him, he'll be fine. He's a fantastic rugby player. Everyone has experiences which aren't pleasant, but he will be fine."

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Jones went on to highlight the leading sportsmen who have experienced off days during illustrious careers, although it must be said that Ford’s wastefulness could well cost him the No 10 shirt with Owen Farrell staking a claim as the in-form fly-half in world rugby after inspiring Saracens to an Aviva Premiership and European Champions Cup double with Saturday’s 28-20 victory over Exeter Chiefs in the domestic showcase.

"I have seen Tiger Woods miss putts, I have seen Michael Jordan miss jump shots, everyone has a bad day and he had a bad day kicking but I thought the rest of his play was brilliant," Jones added.

"He knew when to run and he knew when to kick and he had a few dabs himself.

"We scored five tries, one was a bit how's your mother, and the other four were scored by backs. If you score four tries against Wales your stand-off is doing something right.

"The thing that strikes me is that we've just beaten Wales five tries to one and we're talking about a guy who can't kick a few goals.

"It's quite amazing and just shows the negative reaction in English rugby. It's quite sad... I find it quite sad to be honest.

"Wales are literally full strength, we're missing 11 players and we're talking about a young kid who misses some kicks. We need to get some perspective on where we're going in the game here."

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Should Farrell move back to the fly-half role at Ford’s expense, the inside centre shirt becomes a problem position for Jones, given Tuilagi will have been expected to fill in had he been fit. The Leicester Tigers centre will instead miss the entire tour with a hamstring injury in the latest blow to his hopes of re-establishing himself at Test level, and with Jonathan Jospeh and Henry Slade battling it out for the outside centre role, Burrell could find himself starting the first Test.

Slade can also play at 12, but his poor showing in the Premiership final comes just two months after he returned from a dislocated ankle and broken leg, and the 23-year-old Exeter centre needs time to regain the form he displayed in 2015. Because of the midfield conundrum – which has hindered past coaches such as Lancaster and Martin Johnson – Jones is likely to keep Ford in the side and deploy Farrell in the midfield, given it is a tried and tested partnership that worked in the Six Nations and also allows Farrell to take care of kicking duties.