DURSLEY RFC chairman Simon Bilous said the club’s old boy Ben Morgan deserves his selection for England’s Rugby World Cup squad after months of fighting back from a badly broken leg.

Gloucester number eight Morgan has visited his old club while recovering from his injury over recent months and, said Bilous, being named by England head coach Stuart Lancaster to win the World Cup is probably the biggest achievement by any Dursley player in their history.

And, added the chairman, this will help to inspire youngsters at the club to see that they can reach the top if they want to.

Indeed, the big number eight was at Dursley at the back end of last season to present Bilous with a signed England jersey as part of his Ton Up Club which is raising money to try and redevelop the club’s changing rooms.

Bilous said: “Everyone would have been waiting for the announcement with keen interest and there will be overwhelming delight that he has made the squad.

“He deserves it too. He has worked so hard in the last six to seven months since his injury.”

Even though Morgan was Man of the Series at last November’s Test matches at Twickenham and would have cemented his place as England’s number one number eight at the Six Nations Championship, his leg break and the fact that his only time in a match since has been a fortnight ago in the first warm-up clash with France, where he played 40 minutes, meant his inclusion was touch and go.

Harlequins Nick Easter was the other choice to join former Thornbury player Billy Vunipola at number eight.

But Lancaster has decided that Morgan can get match fit to make his mark in the tournament.

Bilous knows that England have made the right choice, adding: “He is a tried and tested. It is a bit of a risk in terms of his fitness but Lancaster knows what he can do. He is the type of player you leave out at your peril.”

Everyone at Dursley RFC will be glued to the TV throughout the tournament and cheering on the man who started there as a junior and came through the ranks to the top.

The chairman said: “This has to be the biggest thing ever for us. It means a huge amount. When he was injured, he came along from time to time and helped us out here.

“He is definitely highly-regarded and has a lot of connections with people here. His oldest standing friends are still here and this has to be the biggest stage that any Dursley player has ever performed on.

“And for it to be a home World Cup in England it means a lot for us to be getting behind the side and to see one of our own performing at that level.

“It is something that the younger players in the club can aspire to. He is such a level-headed type of person too and now he is at the highest level of the game.”

There was also joy for Gloucester wing Jonny May  who has also made the 31-man England squad for the tournament but dismay for another Cherry and White favourite, centre Billy Twelvetrees, who was one of the two centres – Luther Burrell was the other – to be left out of the squad.

England’s 31-man World Cup squad is:

Props: K Brookes (Northampton), D Cole (Leicester), J Marler (Harlequins), M Vunipola (Saracens), D Wilson (Bath).

Hookers: J George (Saracens), R Webber (Bath), T Youngs (Leicester).

Second rows: G Kruis (Saracens), J Launchbury (Wasps), C Lawes (Northampton), G Parling (Exeter).

Back rows: J Haskell (Wasps), B Morgan (Gloucester), C Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), B Vunipola (Saracens), T Wood (Northampton).

Scrum halves: D Care (Harlequins), R Wigglesworth (Saracens), B Youngs (Leicester Tigers).

Fly halves: O Farrell (Saracens), G Ford (Bath).

Centres: B Barritt (Saracens), S Burgess (Bath), J Joseph (Bath), H Slade (Exeter).

Back three: M Brown (Harlequins), A Goode (Saracens), J May (Gloucester) , J Nowell (Exeter), A Watson (Bath Rugby).