Sam Burgess can make the grade for England - as flanker, believes Francois Louw

As a veteran of more than 30 caps for the Springboks, and surely one of the first names on Heyneke Meyer’s squad list when it comes to this autumn’s Rugby World Cup, there are not many players better qualified to talk about the art of back row play than Francois Louw.

So when the Bath flanker said after this seven-try romp at home to Gloucester - which sent the hosts into this Saturday’s home semi-final playoff against Leicester brimming with confidence - that he felt Sam Burgess had “what it takes to have an influence on the international game from that position”, despite having played ju…