The Leicester back is renowned for his versatility and has featured most prominently for England on the wing.

But with James Simpson-Daniel, Phil Christophers, Ben Cohen and the injured duo of Dan Luger and Iain Balshaw all vying for places, competition is tough.

Evidence of that is the fact that Healey will start Saturday's match against South Africa at Twickenham on the bench.

"Six months ago I would have said my best chance of getting into the World Cup squad was on the wing," said Healey.

"Now, reassessing myself, maybe I'll have to try somewhere else.

"Maybe I would have been a better player if I'd stayed at scrum-half, but perhaps I would have stagnated and got bored with the whole game.

"I think the changing around of positions has really kept my appetite hard for playing rugby."

Milestone

Should Healey make it onto the field on Saturday, he will become the 14th England player to win 50 caps.

"Fifty was the only milestone I was really keen to get to for England," he said.

"I remember thinking when Jerry Guscott got his 50th cap, I'd like a bit of that. Not many people get to play 50 times for their country."

Injury problems have not helped Healey in the fight to secure a starting place in the England team.

"It has been frustrating," he admitted. "But I'm lucky to be here.

"It spurs you on to increase your efforts, if that's possible, but playing for England is all about the perception of the coaches.

"It's such a tight-run thing in terms of the abilities of the players. You just need to get the coaches thinking you're the best person for the job.

"That takes a lot of hard work."