'Gutted' Lewsey Out of World Cup Final

The England winger Josh Lewsey has been ruled out of the Rugby World Cup final with a hamstring strain, it was confirmed today. Lewsey suffered the injury to his right leg just before half-time in England's 14-9 semi-final victory over France at the weekend.

A scan last night confirmed he had suffered a grade-one strain and will miss England's clash with South Africa on Saturday. "He [Lewsey] will take no further part in the tournament and will be replaced in the 30-man squad," read an England statement. "The replacement is under consideration."

The England coach, Brian Ashton, now faces a likely choice between recalling Mark Cueto or keeping center Mathew Tait on the wing, where he finished Saturday's game.

"I'm just absolutely gutted. To miss out on the final is personally devastating," said Lewsey. "But there's more important factors than that. All I care about is that England win - I don't care how. But it's not the time for self pity. It's a time to be positive and look what we've achieved over the last few weeks."

Among those likely to be considered for a call-up into the squad are Bath's Nick Abendanon and Wasps' Danny Cipriani, who were both in England's pre-tournament training squad but missed out on selection.