Haughton receives England plug

Saracens boss Alan Gaffney has given England selectors a forceful nudge towards flyer Richard Haughton for this season's summer tour of New Zealand.

Saracens boss Alan Gaffney has given England selectors a forceful nudge in the direction of flyer Richard Haughton for the summer tour of New Zealand.

Back-three specialist Haughton has been in electric club form this season in the lead up to his Heineken Cup clash with Shane Williams at Vicarage Road last Sunday.

And the 27-year-old continued that trend in the Ospreys rematch with an impressive game against the Six Nations star of the tournament.

However, despite crossing for five European scores this season – alongside French internationals Vincent Clerc and Aurelien Rougerie as leading try-scorers – Haughton failed to make either the full England or Saxons squads in February, leaving Gaffney scratching his head.

“Richard Haughton should be in the national set-up,” stressed the Saracens Director of Rugby.

“This season he has been one of our most consistent performers and how he was not included in the best 64 players in England for those squads amazes me.

“Richard's been our outstanding back three player this season and I thought he was one of the better performers against the Ospreys.

“Shane Williams is a good player and I've got nothing against what he did out there, but if you looked at the pair of them on a one on one basis, I've no doubt who won that contest.”