Stephen Myler says he is not in the England squad to be third-choice fly-half

Stephen Myler, the man who is not Danny Cipriani, dismisses the notion that he might be irked by the veiled and unfavourable comparison with the high-profile Sale fly-half: the reliable, safe monochrome counterpoint to the more flamboyant, eye-catching game of one of his rivals for a place in the England squad.

It is Myler who has prevailed, Myler who would have started in the first Test against the All Blacks in June but for his delayed arrival in New Zealand because of the Aviva Premiership final, Myler who is the linchpin of the English champions, the man who rekindled their European hopes by helping his team to victory over high-flying Ospreys at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday evening.

Myler would have every reason to be miffed by the suggestion that he is somehow a lesser player than the two No 10s who have not made the Elite Player Squad, Cipriani and Freddie Burns. He would have paid more heed to the comments of Stuart Lancaster last week that he put greater emphasis on precise execution of skill than “flash stuff”.

Myler has been one of the standout performers of the past 12 months, the prompt and motor of a Saints side who won their first Premiership title, the guy who held it all together, who got big men up front such as Samu Manoa and Courtney Lawes on the move, whetting their appetite for more with kicking that shrewdly turned the opposition pack, then feeding his powerful runners outside, such as the Pisi brothers and Luther Burrell.

No, Myler has merited his place and it is time his talent was more widely recognised. “All that other stuff does not annoy me,” Myler said. “I don’t seek out all that sort of thing, read the comparisons. My aim is to play good rugby, listen to those around me, do what I need to do for the team. If Jim Mallinder [the Northampton director of rugby] is happy, then I know I am doing my job properly. That’s what you need to concentrate on, not what people are saying or thinking on the outside.”

Myler, 30, learnt his trade first and foremost as a rugby league player, joining the St Helens academy straight from school, little surprise given that his family connections with the sport run deep. He then had stints with Widnes and Salford City Reds. He switched codes in 2006, when he joined Northampton.

The arrival last season of Alex King, the former Wasps fly-half, on the coaching staff at Franklin’s Gardens from Clermont Auvergne, has brought out the subtleties in Myler’s game, the ability to take the ball to the line and feed his runners. He appears more confident, more assured. He rejects that simplistic assessment.

“I have always had confidence in my abilities,” Myler said. “I was never in doubt as to what I had to offer. It was just a case of getting regular game time.” He managed just that last season, starting all bar two of Northampton’s Premiership games – durable as well as reliable.

“As a fly-half, you need to be out there as often as you can, creating the shape for the team, working the patterns for the team. Alex [King] has brought so much to everyone, not just to me. He wants everyone to buy into what we are trying to do. I have thrived on that responsibility, knowing that it is down to me to bring others into the game.

“It helped enormously that we made big signings last year in George North, Alex Corbisiero and Kahn Fotuali’i. That has broadened our options.”

Myler went into England camp on Sunday night determined to show Lancaster that he was not to be third-choice fly-half. The preferred selection pairing in the eyes of most people would be a starting slot for Owen Farrell, with George Ford on the bench.

“There is no way that you can carry that sort of mindset with you,” Myler said. “Stuart does not want those kind of people in the squad. We are all there to push each other and to compete for a place in the starting line-up. He did tell me that I would have started that first Test in June, but I can’t let the thought of what might have been linger in my head. I want another chance, and that can only come by playing well.”