Thursday 18 May 2017 17:39, UK
Christian Wade is determined to prove Eddie Jones wrong over his omission from England's squad to tour Argentina.
Despite topping the Premiership try-scoring with 17 as he helped Wasps finish top of the regular-season table, Wade was omitted from Jones' 31-man squad which features 15 uncapped players.
Wade's omission comes despite the fact Elliott Daly, Jack Nowell and Anthony Watson are among 15 English players on Lions duty this summer and Wasps boss Dai Young has expressed frustration that Wade was overlooked.
Wade, however, is refusing to get downhearted by the snub and intends to be at his best when Wasps take on Leicester in the Aviva Premiership semi-finals at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday.
"I'm definitely ready to meet that challenge from Eddie and the England coaches," Wade said.
"It's never been an easy ride for me with my size. People have always said 'you're too small for this, you're too small for that', but I've still achieved what I have.
"And I don't plan on stopping. I'm just going to keep improving and keep on bettering myself.
"My main goal is to just improve myself regardless of selection anyway. I'm not really going to rest on just scoring tries.
"I'm going to become the best player I can be for my club, they're the team that's brought me into the sport.
"I feel I've stepped it up another level this year, I'm in a great place at the moment.
"It would have been great to go on tour but ultimately I'm happy. And I'm ready to go again next year."
Wasps swept the board at Wednesday's Premiership awards, with Jimmy Gopperth collecting the prestigious player of the year prize, while boss Young scooped the rugby director of the year award.
Wade received his top try-scorer trophy and he hailed superstar team-mates Kurtley Beale and Willie le Roux for helping him hone his attacking craft.
"For me as a winger it's my job to score tries and to create them too," Wade explained.
"So to finish as top try scorer it's great for the team. We've been great in attack with our big guns and playmakers but we want to keep improving.
"With Kurtley and Willie it's really improved my running lines and understanding of how to break down a defence.
"It's paying attention to detail working with these guys and it's really helped me a lot. It's small things that make a massive difference.
"We know we'll be in for a seriously tough match against Leicester, but hopefully the Ricoh will be sold out. The fans have been absolutely brilliant with us there, and it's a testing atmosphere for visiting teams."
