England’s Six Nations preparations have been dealt a significant blow by an injury to their powerful centre Ben Te’o. The Worcester player had been expected to start against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday but has been ruled out with a side strain, forcing Eddie Jones to reshuffle his midfield plans.
Following the injury, sustained during training in Portugal, it is now all but certain Manu Tuilagi will make his first Six Nations start in almost six years. Jones, however, must review his midfield options yet again and choose between moving his captain, Owen Farrell, to 12 or pairing Tuilagi with Exeter’s Henry Slade.
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England’s management tried to play down the implications of Te’o’s absence, pointing out George Ford and Farrell were the first choice 10-12 pairing for the first two years of Jones’s tenure. It may well be the coach has little option but to revert to that arrangement, unless he chooses to play Slade and Tuilagi together for the first time.
As well as Brad Shields and Joe Cokanasiga, both ruled out of contention by niggling injuries, Jones has released seven other players back to their clubs. The forwards Dan Cole, Jack Singleton, Ben Moon and Ben Earl and the backs Jonathan Joseph, Ollie Devoto and Ollie Thorley are all surplus to requirements, leaving 25 players vying to make England’s matchday squad.
England have also retained all four of their available locks, clearly mindful of the lineout threat posed by Ireland, with Ellis Genge and Luke Cowan-Dickie in line to add extra energy off the bench.
No one, however, is keener for Saturday to arrive than Tuilagi, who has made only two appearances off the bench since his last Test start in New Zealand in June 2014 after a grim succession of injuries.
Now 27, there have been times when Tuilagi’s long-awaited return to the England midfield seemed destined not to happen. This season he has managed to string together a series of games for Leicester and looks as excited at the prospect of his 28th cap as he was before his debut in 2011.
“Manu’s been looking brilliant,” the England assistant coach, Neal Hatley, said. “He’s trained exceptionally well in the midfield for us and he’s in a really good space. He’s a physical player and guys like playing alongside blokes like that. He definitely has a positive effect … he brings a different element to how the team feels and plays.”
Jones and his staff, even so, could have done without Te’o being removed from the equation in the buildup to such a huge game. Ireland may not be too broken-hearted to see Farrell redeployed at inside-centre, although Hatley denies England’s prospects have been fatally compromised. “It’s not as big as you’d think,” he said. “It’s not like Ben is the only player who has run at 12 for us. We’ve tried different people in there to make sure that if something like this comes up, there are contingencies in place.”
Tuilagi cannot wait to make up for lost time and says the match will feel extra special. “You appreciate it 100% more,” he said. “When you are fit and well and playing you don’t really think about it. Now I’ve got the opportunity again to do what I really love doing and I have to take it.
“Back when I was first capped, I just played. I didn’t really think about it too much. I just wanted to get my hands on the ball but as you get older and learn more about the game there is a lot more to it.”