MANU OF MYSTERY
Is jinxed centre still injured or will Eddie launch Tuilagi at Wallabies?
ENGLAND’S international Manu mystery deepened last night as their heavyweight centre was retained for the showdown with Australia on Saturday, despite previous claims that he wouldn’t be ready to play.
Manu Tuilagi’s much-anticipated Test comeback has been a will-he, won’t-he subplot of the entire autumn campaign, with Eddie Jones desperate to pick him but repeatedly thwarted.
So many injuries have curtailed the 27-year-old Leicester centre’s career in recent years and now, just when he is within touching distance of a return, he has been held up by yet another setback.
A minor groin problem has been hampering him since he was named among the substitutes for the opening Quilter Test against South Africa, only to be withdrawn at short notice. Tuilagi has not played for his country since March 2016 and has not started a Test since June 2014. There is a palpable sense of impatience within the squad about seeing him back in international action.
That may be this weekend. Or it may not. Confusion reigns. In the aftermath of England’s victory over Japan last Saturday, Jones all but ruled Tuilagi out against the Wallabies, calling his involvement ‘very unlikely’.
But he has continued to train, is being medically assessed on a daily basis, is still in the squad and the official word is that he is ‘in contention’.
If the idea is to disrupt Australia’s build-up, it is surely working a treat. England with Tuilagi or England without him are two very different teams to prepare for and Australia head coach Michael Cheika will be operating in the dark.
The conspiracy theory at England’s training base in Surrey yesterday was that this is all a ruse, that Jones would play down Tuilagi’s prospects, only to unleash him from the start at outside centre. However, sources have indicated to
Sportsmail that a starting place is unlikely to be kept open for him. Instead, maybe — just maybe — there is a bench berth for him if he comes through training today.
England have lost Chris Ashton, with the Sale wing returning to his club last night after a scan revealed damage to his calf. On that basis, the most likely scenario is that the hosts will revert to the back line which started against South Africa on November 3 — Elliot Daly at full back, Jonny May and Jack Nowell on the wings, Ben Te’o and Henry Slade in midfield, with Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell at half-back.
As of last night, with 26 players left in camp after Worcester rookie Ted Hill was released along with Ashton, the backs on the bench are set to be Richard Wigglesworth, George Ford and AN Other. That final replacement will be either Tuilagi or Bath wing Joe Cokanasiga, who did so well on his try- scoring debut last weekend. Piers Francis is also still in camp but is most likely there as cover in the event Tuilagi is ruled out.
Meanwhile, there has been considerable upheaval for the Wallabies as a bug swept through their ranks, affecting 10 players and staff. Key men Bernard Foley and Israel Folau have taken a very limited part in training, while influential back- rower David Pocock remains a major doubt due to a neck injury sustained in the win over Italy four days ago.