NEWCASTLE Falcons centre Mathew Tait last night insisted he was ready to put the traumas of his international debut behind him after he was named in the England squad that will travel to Australia next month.

Tait, who was the star of the sevens tournament as England claimed a Commonwealth Games silver medal on Australian soil earlier this year, was an eye-catching addition to the 30-man travelling party announced by head coach Andy Robinson yesterday.

The 20-year-old made his international debut in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in the opening game of last season's Six Nations Championship, but was instantly dropped by Robinson after a Gavin Henson-inspired Wales side made a winning start to a campaign that would eventually end in the Grand Slam.

Robinson's poor man management was roundly castigated at the time and, for the next four months, a teenage Tait struggled to come to terms with his rapidly fluctuating fortunes.

He gradually regained his confidence under the careful tutelage of Falcons director of rugby Rob Andrew and marked his return to form with a series of scintillating displays on the sevens stage.

Yesterday's announcement completes his rehabilitation, with the Wolsingham-born centre expected to claim the number 13 jersey for June's two-Test tour of Australia and this month's friendly against the Barbarians.

"It's fantastic to be back involved with England again," said Tait, who is joined in the squad by Newcastle team-mate Jamie Noon. "It has been a major goal of mine and I just hope to make the most of any chances that come my way.

"It's fairly well-documented what happened when I was last with the full England side, but I've learnt a lot from that time and I feel I'm much better equipped now to deal with the whole thing.

"I've had a lot of positive experiences with England in the sevens code during the last year or so, as well as developing well within the Newcastle set-up, so I'm going in to the tour full of confidence and with a lot of support from the people around me.

"Having played in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne I know what sort of crowds are waiting for us down there, and it's an exciting prospect."

Having named an all-English 22 for Newcastle's final Guinness Premiership game of the season, Andrew is understandably delighted at Tait's call-up providing further evidence of the strength of the Falcons' Academy system.

But, having witnessed the burden of expectation the former Barnard Castle pupil was saddled with last March, Andrew has urged everyone involved in the England set-up not to make the same mistakes again.

"Everyone has seen what an amazing talent Mathew is," said the former England fly-half. "The key is just to make sure the expectation is realistic.

"He is a very young man who has started only 41 matches of senior 15-a-side rugby in his life. He is still learning the game and he needs to be managed carefully.

"It's not fair to expect him to automatically translate his sevens form on to the Test stage because they are totally different games, but we as a club are delighted for him in being called up."

Tait is just one of a number of youngsters to have been included in one of the weakest touring squad's in England history.

Robinson has rested a number of his frontline internationals evoking inevitable comparisons to 1998's 'Tour to Hell' in which a below-strength England suffered a record 76-0 drubbing at the hands of the Wallabies.

England will return to Sydney's Olympic Stadium for the first time since the 2003 World Cup final with second row Ben Kay the only survivor from the starting XV which overcame Australia.

Veteran centre Mike Catt, who was a substitute in that final, has also been recalled.

England squad:

Backs: S Abbott (Wasps), I Balshaw (Gloucester), O Barkley (Bath), S Bemand (Leicester), M Catt (London Irish), A Goode (Leicester), J Noon (Newcastle), P Richards (Gloucester), J Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), M Tait (Newcastle), M Van Gisbergen (Wasps), T Varndell (Leicester), T Voyce (Wasps), N Walshe (Bath).

Forwards: D Bell (Bath), A Brown (Gloucester), G Chuter (Leicester), L Deacon (Leicester), C Jones (Sale), B Kay (Leicester), M Lipman (Bath), M Lund (Sale), L Mears (Bath), L Moody (Leicester), T Payne (Wasps), G Rowntree (Leicester), P Sanderson (Worcester, captain), A Titterrell (Sale), J White (Leicester), J Worsley (Wasps).