Eddie Jones was on Wednesday night set to make a late decision on whether to play Manu Tuilagi against Australia on Saturday. The centre has not played for England for more than two-and-a-half years but took part in a make-or-break training session on Wednesday with Jones mulling over whether to include the heavyweight Tuilagi when he names his squad on Thursday.
Tuilagi was put through his paces on his own, away from the rest of the backs, before joining in full training, but Jones has been adamant throughout the autumn that he must be “100%” to play. On Monday he described Tuilagi as “very doubtful” but on Tuesday he was retained in a 26-man squad, with the Rugby Football Union confirming he was “in contention”.
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The 27-year-old was named among the replacements for England’s first match of the autumn but was withdrawn with a “very minor” groin strain. He was not selected against New Zealand nor considered to face Japan because of what was described as an adductor injury. On Wednesday England were unable to confirm if Tuilagi has been hampered by an ongoing problem or two different injuries.
There is little doubting Jones is desperate to see Tuilagi on the field – the centre has played only once for him, off the bench against Wales in the 2016 Six Nations and last started for England in the summer of 2014 – but the head coach did on Monday suggest he was willing to be patient with the Leicester man in order to get him right for next year’s World Cup.
If Tuilagi is selected, however, it would most probably be among the replacements and while the defence coach, John Mitchell, confirmed the decision ultimately rests with Jones, Mitchell suggested he would not pick him to start if it were up to him. “Experience tells me that would be a challenging selection,” he said.
Jones will on Thursday name a 23-man squad with Elliott Stooke the most likely forward to be cut. Sam Underhill is expected to come back into the back row, while how Jones decides to deploy Courtney Lawes will impact on the make-up of the rest of the pack. Nathan Hughes is set to feature after suspension. From the backs, two of Tuilagi, Piers Francis and Joe Cokanasiga are likely to be released, though the latter is pushing Jack Nowell for a start after his impressive debut against Japan.