Tuilagi left out of Six Nations opener

Eddie Jones, the England head coach, will resist the temptation to fast-track centre Manu Tuilagi into the Six Nations when he announces his squad today for the opening match against Italy.

The list of absentees for the game in Rome on Feb 4 grew yesterday when Wasps flanker James Haskell was banned for four weeks for a dangerous tackle on Jamie Roberts. Jones had already lost wing Elliot Daly, No8s Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes, and props Ellis Genge and Matt Mullan to injury, while Harlequins prop Joe Marler will miss the fixtures against Italy and Wales through suspension.

There is also a doubt over fullback Mike Brown, who left the field with blurred vision during Harlequins’ Champions Cup win against Wasps, but Exeter wing Jack Nowell is expected to recover from an ankle injury. Saracens confirmed yesterday Billy Vunipola would be out for between six and 10 weeks but would not require surgery for a broken arm.

If many of those absences are enforced, Jones has voluntarily allowed Tuilagi to build up his fitness and form at Leicester. The 26-yearold is just four games into the eighth comeback of a truncated career. His last start for England came in 2014.

“I think Eddie is quite keen to see how he goes in that Premiership block of games in February, and he’s quite keen for him to get some quality minutes with us before he looks at including at him,” Matt O’connor, the Leicester head coach, told The Daily Telegraph.

“I think Eddie is smart enough to know that every time Manu plays for us, he has the potential to get better, and that probably puts him closer to playing for England again.”

England’s main problem positions are at No 8 and loosehead prop, where there is little cover for Mako Vunipola. The other main area of interest is at scrum-half. Gregor Townsend, the Scotland head coach, predicted on Tuesday that Gloucester’s Ben Vellacott, who played age-grade rugby for Scotland, would be selected by England. However, Jones may stick by his policy of just selecting two scrum-halves in Ben Youngs and Danny Care.

Meanwhile, the vagaries of rugby’s disciplinary process were exposed yesterday as Haskell’s four-week ban contrasted with the three-week suspension administered to Mathieu Bastareaud for using homophobic language.

Haskell’s ban was reduced from six weeks for his good record and expression of remorse. He will also miss England’s Six Nations match against Wales on Feb 10.