Ben Morgan: Gloucester forward defends World Cup fitness

Morgan was in the England side that lost to Australia at Twickenham, sealing their World Cup exit

Gloucester number eight Ben Morgan has defended his performances at the World Cup and insisted he was fully fit.

Morgan, 26, was among players criticised in the media after England failed to progress from their group.

He recovered from a broken leg suffered in January to make England's squad and said he is in good shape.

"I feel great," Morgan told BBC Gloucestershire. "I put a lot of work in over the injured period and it's great to be able to put that back in."

He returned to club rugby last Friday in Gloucester's Premiership victory at Newcastle Falcons, having made two World Cup appearances against Fiji and Australia.

"I'm playing right now so I am happy. I'm ready to roll.

"I feel like I made an impact coming off the bench at Newcastle and I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to play at Kingsholm," he said.

"I love playing for Gloucester, this is my home town club, it's very easy for me to come back here and get straight back into the mould. The boys are very welcoming and get you back up to speed."

Having made a winning start to the season, Gloucester are determined to repeat that against champions Saracens on Friday evening.

"It's great to be back at my club and there is an exciting Premiership season ahead," said Morgan. "We've started well against Newcastle and we have a big challenge against Saracens.

"We want to have people coming here testing us and for us to show our strengths. Last year we began to establish Kingsholm as a fortress and it is important we continue that this year.

"There is no bigger challenge than having the champions come up this year so it will be a great test. We are ready and we can't wait."