Nick Cain reports
Eddie has plenty of choices if he wants to make changes
MANU Tuilagi has slipped down the England pecking order to the extent that he misses out on selection for the England third team picked here. My main selection criteria is form over the current season, and the 26-cap Leicester centre has simply not been good enough to warrant inclusion.
It is a tough call for Tuilagi, not just because he has been injured for the best part of three years but also because he has climbed to rarefied heights at Test level. This includes a one-man demolition job on New Zealand at Twickenham in 2012.
However, Tuilagi, who last played for England in 2016 off the bench against Wales, is currently a long way from the unstoppable midfield strike weapon who destroyed the world champions six years ago.
It is not that Tuilagi was bad last weekend for Leicester against Harlequins, it was just that he was reduced to being a bit above average rather than the force of nature he was before the litany of injuries began. Although he made a couple of strong runs the dynamism and raw power that were his trademark were absent.
There were unmistakable signs that he is not getting the response he wants when he hits the accelerator. This was highlighted by a glaring early defensive lapse when Quins full-back Aaron Morris set off on an arcing outside line which Tuilagi, now 26, was powerless to prevent, resulting in a try for Alofa Alofa.
The tell-tale sign that he is not yet up to running speed was there in the heavy strapping around his left knee. Whether the damage is physical, or psychological – or both – the demons from his long spells on the sidelines are still in the background, and until Tuilagi is free of their shackles he will not be ready for international action.
The only player in the starting 15 who does not measure-up on the form front is Kyle Sinckler. The Quins tight-head was quiet against Wasps on his return from a hamstring injury a fortnight ago, and the lack of progress evident against Leicester last weekend at Welford Road will not have gone unnoticed by Eddie Jones, who was watching from the stands.
While Sinckler scrummaged solidly enough he was not plugged properly into the defensive pattern, giving away two kickable penalties and sharing responsibility for opening the door for Matt Toomua’s try.
The truth is that Sinckler gets into this side based on the quality of his bench performances for the
“Among the tight-heads jockeying for advancement is Henry Thomas”
2017 Lions Test side, and the rich promise they contained. There have been a few glimpses of his dynamism this season in between a gouging ban, injuries and yellow cards – however, the Lions currency that is keeping Sinckler in England contention will drop in value rapidly if they do not turn into a highlights reel of consistent, disciplined quality.
There are a number of tightheads jockeying for advancement, among them Bath’s Henry Thomas, who won seven England caps off the bench in 2013-14, and was called up to the Six Nations training camp in Portugal when Sinckler was ruled out.
Nor can Wasps strongman Jake Cooper-Woolley be ruled out after putting together a solid run of games, while Worcester’s English qualified South African-born tighthead, Nick Schonert, is also on the England the map again after injury.
What is impressive is that the multi-layers of playing strength present at tight-head are mirrored in every position throughout the England third team, giving Jones a reserve depth which very few countries – if any – possess. It is not arrogant to suggest that this third team would be capable of giving the full England Test side a game every bit as hard as some of their international opponents. Elsewhere in the front row Alec Hepburn is included at loosehead despite winning two caps off the bench in the first two rounds of this Six Nations campaign. Unluckily for the Exeter prop, no sooner did the more experienced Joe Marler’s ban expire than he was leap-frogged. The consolation is that at least Hepburn was in the mix, whereas the likes of Bath’s Max Lahiff – who matches Hepburn’s impressive mobility – the injured Ellis Genge, and solid troopers like Ben Moon (Exeter) and Richard Barrington (Saracens) have yet to crack the England code. At hooker another Exeter man, Luke Cowan-Dickie, gets the nod,
with Bath butchershard boy Tom Dunn on his heels, and a couple of live wires in the loose, Jack Singleton (Worcester) and Tom Cruse (Wasps) also pressing their cases.
The larder at lock is stocked to overflowing with a mixture of hard-shod workhores like Newcastle’s Callum Green, Ed Slater (Gloucester) and Charlie Ewels (Bath) complemented by rangy line-out lighthouses with Exeter’s Jonny Hill enjoying a breakthrough season and the Wasps veteran Kearnan Mall also making his mark.
In the back row the blindside is covered in triplicate by Don Armand, his juggernaut Exeter team-mate Dave Ewers, and Newcastle grafter Mark Wilson.
Another blindside making a persuasive bid for higher honours is Jamie Gibson, who has been an unbending stanchion in a Northampton side which has frequently crumble. Heaven knows where the Sants would be without Gibson, because he is the
“The openside drought in English rugby also appears to be turning into an oasis”
second best line-out forward in the league with 68 successes, with only Green ahead of him (70) and Hill one rung lower (67).
Add to that a turn-over rate that puts him second equal on 14 with Dave Ward (Quins), and only two behind Blair Cowan (London Irish) on 16, and it is a wonder that Gibson has not been considered as a Kieran Read-style No.8 by Northampton.
The openside drought in English rugby also appears to be turning into an oasis. While Sale’s Tom Curry has been making his way back from injury, Wasps have unearthed an exciting young talent in Jack Willis, whose technique over the ball is exceptional – and with Matt Kvesic (Exeter) and Teimana Harrison (Northampton) already capped, and Gary Graham making headway at Newcastle, there are plenty of options.
The same is true at No.8 where the hard-carrying, high work-rate James Chisholm has made an impact at Harlequins during Jack Clifford’s absence, and he gets the nod ahead of Zach Mercer and Josh Beaumont, who is playing lock for Sale after working his way back after injury.
Jones has decided against bringing the Wasps half-back pairing of Dan Robson and Danny Cipriani into the England fold over the past two seasons, although the scrumhalf has been on standby occasionally. Yet, it is a combination with the spark to ignite a handy looking back line.
Robson has an all court-game that puts him in the same bracket as Danny Care and Ben Youngs, while he and Saracens rival Ben Spencer have the speed and strength to be a constant threat around the fringes of the ruck.
Cipriani is more creative playing flat to the line than any other English fly-half at club level, including George Ford, and his tactical kicking has also been impressive in its accuracy and range this season.
The 12-13 combination of Alex Lozowski and Henry Trinder not only gives the side a second kicking option through the strong-tackling Saracens inside-centre, but also attacking flair, because the Gloucester man is one of the most deceptive, sinuous outside-centres in Europe.
Last but by no means least this England third team boasts a back three of Alex Goode at full-back, and wingers Olly Woodburn and Nathan Earle, with the first two dominating the Premiership in terms of attacking statistics.
Goode tops the charts this season in Most Carries (195) and Metres Gained (1,398), with Exeter raider Woodburn second to him in the latter category (1,354) but top of the Clean Breaks list (28), and both of them are second equal in the Defenders Beaten category (48) to Newcastle’s Sinoti Sinoti (55).
While Earle has not had enough starts for Saracens this season to build a similar statistical portfolio his speed and agility means he tends to make the most of the opportunities that come his way.
If this England third team as a whole was ever to get a run together, you would back it to do the same.