Armitage: Glad to be in squad

Instead of his chances being "messed up", manager Martin Johnson has put his faith in Armitage by selecting him in the 30-man World Cup squad, having recalled him for the warm-up matches against Wales and Ireland.

And the London Irish full-back has vowed to repay his boss by proving he does not have a discipline problem and insists he will not be a liability in New Zealand for what he hopes is a near two-month stay.

The 27-year-old missed the entire RBS 6 Nations after being banned for pushing an anti-doping official before getting himself suspended again for England's May clash with the Barbarians after striking an opponent during an Aviva Premiership game.

Armitage said: "I thought I'd messed up my chances of playing with those bans.

"I can't make that decision on how Johnno was going to go.

"I just needed to come back and do the best I could do.

"I wanted to put some pressure on him when he was making the decision on who to select."

Johnson threw down the gauntlet to Armitage by picking him for England's first warm-up match against Wales at the start of the month.

"The pressure was on," said Armitage.

"I hadn't played for a while and I had an opportunity to go back play rugby and just enjoy myself again.

"I'm just glad it went well."

It got better on Saturday after Armitage came off the bench to score a try in England's impressive 20-9 victory in Ireland.

Yet, for all his qualities, there are bound to be those who question Armitage's temperament following his this year's flare-ups.

But he said: "I think that's all rubbish. My discipline for England, you guys can go back and look, I've never had a problem.

"I know I want to play for England and I don't want to let the side or anyone down. That's not been a problem and it won't be problem for me."

He added: "Every game you play rugby, you're going to have little needles and stuff.

"It's how you control that, it's how you react. You just grow up and get on with it."

Armitage is determined to make the most of his reprieve by doing everything possible to play a part in England's World Cup opener against Argentina a week on Saturday.

"I've got that hunger back," said Armitage, who is competing with Ben Foden, Chris Ashton and Mark Cueto for a place in the back three.

"I've got an opportunity to go out to the big show so now everything is focused on getting selected for that Argentina game.

"I just want to play, regardless of whether it's on the wing or at full-back.

"Ben's still playing really well and Ash and Cuets are still going well.

"Every time I get an opportunity, I'm going to try to put pressure on the coaches by playing well.

"If I have to sit on the bench or in the stands then so be it. We need to get that first game win and then move on."

Winning the battle for a jersey is only one of Armitage's ambitions out in New Zealand, where he wants to test himself against the world's best back-three talent, such as All Blacks great Mils Muliaina and Australia prodigies Kurtley Beale and James O'Connor.

"You want to be the best in the world in your position," he said.

"You look at those guys and think they're amazing.

"You watch Kurtley and the way he plays week in and week out and guys like O'Connor and Mils Muliaina.

"If you get an opportunity to play against them, that's what you want.

"To play against the best players in the world and to have that opportunity would be massive."