Borthwick begs ‘brilliant’ Manu to shun France
STEvE BORTHWICK pleaded with Manu Tuilagi not to move to France next season as the England centre arrived in Lyon for his Test swansong.
Tuilagi is set to leave Sale Sharks at the end of the season, joining the exodus of English players in search of a big-money contract overseas.
He is yet to sign a deal but his options in the Premiership are said to be dwarfed by offers from clubs in France and Japan.
A stalwart of English rugby over the past decade, the 32-year-old has been named on the bench for tomorrow’s game, which is likely to be his 60th and final international appearance.
‘I’m hopeful he will stay in England,’ said Borthwick. ‘Ultimately, that’s up to Manu and the opportunities that present themselves. From my point of view, he knows I want him in England, I want all our best players playing in England.
‘Manu’s a brilliant influence on the young players. He’s socially robust within the group, he’s brilliant at bringing people together. He’s the one at the coffee machine making coffee for everyone to sit, chat and spend time with each other. He brings people together.
‘The very best players make everyone else be five per cent or 10 per cent better, because of their presence. And Manu has that effect.’
This will be Tuilagi’s first Test appearance since the World Cup, having missed most of the campaign with a groin injury. In his absence, England have shown faith in his long-term successor Ollie Lawrence, who continues in midfield tomorrow after scoring against Ireland.
Borthwick has stuck with the team that shocked Ireland at Twickenham, apart from one injury- enforced change, with Elliot Daly replacing winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. George Ford has retained the No 10 jersey, despite Marcus Smith’s match- winning cameo, as Borthwick seeks stability. ‘I’ve spoken in the past about having consistency and building cohesion within the squad. As I look back over the different cycles of English rugby, that’s not necessarily something we’ve had a huge amount of,’ said Borthwick. ‘ We want to build strong relationships among this player group so we can continue to evolve our game.
‘Having tangible evidence on the pitch, on matchdays, is important. It can be used to build belief. That is important. That’s a part of the journey.
‘Over a period of time we’ll build more belief and the trust will get stronger. That was one step at the weekend, it was an important step. This weekend we intend to take another step in that direction.’
France have named an unchanged team — meaning Tuilagi will not face his giant nephew, Posolo, who has been selected for the Under 20s match. They have retained the huge pack that overpowered Wales and Borthwick is bracing for another heavyweight battle.
‘There’s a two-fold challenge,’ said Borthwick. ‘ One, of their incredible size and power — sixtwo bench, huge forward pack, huge forwards on the bench to come on. They have also got incredible pace in their backline. So depending on how you try and play against that, you are either dealing with the power or you are dealing with the pace. So, tactically, we are going to have to be very smart. Tactically we want to make sure we are on the money with what we do.
‘Test match rugby is a physical challenge and the two teams probably that pose the biggest physical challenge right now are South Africa and France. And we know that’s coming on Saturday night, we’ve been preparing for it and I look forward to seeing this next step of our team.’