Dynamite in the England midfield
PAIRING: TE’O, TUILAGI LIKELY TO BATTER THE ITALIANS
London
England coach Eddie Jones will unleash a powerful midfield pairing of Ben Te’o and Manu Tuilagi against perennial Six Nations strugglers Italy at Twickenham today as he explores his options ahead of this year’s World Cup.
It will be the first time the two dynamic ball-carriers have started a Test together, with Henry Slade dropped to the bench to accommodate Tuilagi’s move to outside centre and Teo’s return.
This season has seen Tuilagi make his first Six Nations start in six years after a miserable run of injuries, with the Leicester midfielder in the starting XV for all three of England’s previous matches – including the 21-13 defeat by Wales in Cardiff a fortnight ago that scuppered their hopes of a Grand Slam.
“They’re both very good players,” said Jones, who has also recalled powerhouse right wing Joe Cokanasiga.
The Australian was especially excited by how Tuilagi had coped with opposing speedy England wing Jonny May in training.
“Manu is really starting to come back to where he can be,” insisted Jones. “In training, Jonny May went to go around him and Manu rounded him up. I haven’t seen that sort of acceleration from Manu for a long time.”
He also tried to put the Wales defeat in context by saying it was part of England’s evolution.
“The great thing about rugby is you never get there, you are always striving to get there,” he said.
“You are climbing up Mount Everest and you never get to the top, you are always trying to get there and sometimes you slip down a bit.”
It was a view endorsed by captain Owen Farrell, who insisted he had not been distracted by recent newspaper allegations that he and his club Saracens, the English champions, had broken Premiership salary-cap regulations.
“We’re just concentrating on what’s in front of us,” said the flyhalf. “We’re all part of a team that wants to bring more out of ourselves and also enjoy what we are doing.”
Victory for Italy, 60/1 rank outsiders to win this weekend, would be the greatest upset in Six Nations history.
They have though been bolstered by the return of skipper Parisse, fit following the concussion that saw him miss the 26-16 defeat by Ireland a fortnight ago – a match the Azzurri led 16-12 at half-time.
“This is an Italy team that’s preparing to win,” insisted O’Shea. –