Lee Mears targets England recall
England hooker Lee Mears is confident that he can return to the England squad, but the forward admitted that he will have a tough fight dislodging the likes of Dylan Hartley, Steve Thompson and George Chuter for the jersey.
Martin Johnson has opted to start Hartley for the match with Australia after he impressed as a substitute in the 16-26 defeat by the All Blacks.
As a result, veteran Steve Thompson drops to the bench and Mears stated that the World Cup winner would not be happy at his performance or demotion.
"Thommo will probably be a bit peeved at being dropped, but when you lose you know they're going to make changes and Dylan's probably had the form in the Premiership at the moment,” Mears told BBC Sport.
The hooker has just returned to action after a spell on the sidelines with a torn bicep.
The Bath forward did feature in the club’s 29-19 win over Cardiff in the LV= Cup and Mears is hoping that a good run in the cup competitions could mean an England recall.
"If we can get to finals and start winning matches then you force yourself upon the selectors. If you play well for Bath you'll hopefully get picked for England. I've got to get my own form right and there might be a chance at some point," said the hooker.
The English international admitted that, “It would have been lovely to be involved, but at the moment I've just got to get myself right,"
Mears will hope that he can get a run of games to prove to Martin Johnson that he deserves to be in the squad.
After getting some game time against Cardiff the Bath forward is keen to feature against Wasps in the LV= Cup on Sunday 14 November.
"I came through it and I'm hoping for a few more minutes this weekend at Wasps. They're tough at Adams Park and it'll be a tough ask, but I'm sure we'll put in a good effort,” added Mears.
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