Sir Clive Woodward has backed Sam Burgess to prove his worth in time to secure a place in England's squad for next year's World Cup.

Burgess switched codes to sign a deal with Bath, and Woodward believes that the 25-year-old has the qualities needed to thrive at inside centre in the international game.

"Next year is going to be one of the biggest years in English rugby history because of the home World Cup and Sam has an outstanding chance of making the squad for that," the former England head coach told reporters.

"He's a great footballer, so there's no logical reason why he shouldn't play and it will be fun finding out what happens. He's a very good player.

"He's the number one rugby league player in the world and when a player of that stature comes over to union, you have to be excited by it."

Burgess is expected to make his first start in rugby union when Bath meet Montpellier in the European Challenge Cup on Friday evening.