Brown confident he can regain his spot for Japan

MIKE Brown insists he is playing the best rugby of his life and is determined to prove to Eddie Jones he is worth a shot for Japan.

The 33-year-old full-back was dropped for the first time by Jones in November and missed all four of England’s Autumn Tests.

“I’m not running around in the freezing cold to have a laugh,” said Brown, below.

“I’m here to win things. I’m desperate to achieve. England is in the back of my mind as always.

“I’m still at the top of my game. I know the sort of player I am and the level I am at so have no doubt I can get back there if I keep working as I do.

“I was nominated for Premiership player of the month so I must be doing something right. The day I lose that competitiveness will be the day I stop.”

Brown feels reinvigorated under Quins new head of rugby Paul Gustard, previously England defence coach under Jones. “The last two years at Quins have been awful – I wasn’t enjoying it at all,” Brown added. “I don’t want to rely on going away with England to enjoy my rugby. Now I feel like I’m genuinely getting better as a player, genuinely able to express myself in games. “Training is so much better in terms of trying stuff, learning and then being able to transfer that on to the field. It allows me to practise stuff that enables me to be the player I want to be. “In the last couple of years maybe I was trying to do too much.” Gustard said: “He is the most capped full-back England have ever had, he will go down as one of the greats, will be the most capped Harlequin of all time so to not have that guy in the England team is surprising.”