Former Ireland centre Gordon D'Arcy has claimed that England were punished by the "naivety" shown by Sam Burgess in their 28-25 loss to Wales at Twickenham.
England face a battle to continue their World Cup campaign after losing to their Pool A rivals at the weekend, and they now face a must-win game against Australia on Saturday.
Burgess was handed a spot in the starting lineup against Wales as a replacement for the injured Jonathan Joseph, but D'Arcy believes that his weaknesses were exposed after playing just 112 minutes of Test rugby prior to the game.
"Burgess lacks the sense of timing, in attack and defence, required to be effective at international level," D'Arcy wrote in a column for the Irish Times.
"His naivety embarrassed those around him and severely damaged England's chances of reaching the quarter-finals.
"Stuart Lancaster picked a league convert who doesn't know how to play inside centre for the biggest match England have played since the 2007 World Cup final."
Burgess is expected to keep his place in the side against Australia should Joseph fail to prove his fitness.
Callum Mulvihill
