'Gutted' Brown eyes Argentina tour after Lions snub

(Reuters) - Mike Brown concedes he was hit hard by his omission from Warren Gatland's British and Irish Lions squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand but the Harlequins fullback is now focussing on England's tour of Argentina in June.

"I didn't take it well. I was gutted," the 31-year-old, who has 60 caps for England, told British media. "I feel I've played really well from 2015 onwards so it was really disappointing to get the call, but you can't let one man's decision define you.

"It's really disappointing ... I've had no feedback about being on standby either, which is also disappointing, so I'm not going to keep up false hopes.

"Instead I'll reset my goals and concentrate fully on England and the excitement of going on a tough Argentina tour."

England flanker James Haskell and hooker Dylan Hartley were two other notable exclusions from Gatland's side, who begin their New Zealand tour on June 3.

On Saturday, England scrum-half Ben Youngs said he had withdrawn from the Lions tour due to family reasons.

The 27-year-old, learned the wife of his brother Tom -- a Leicester Tigers and England team mate -- was terminally ill with cancer having battled the illness for three years.

(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford; [e-mail]; [phone] Reuters; Messaging: [e-mail])