England have been dealt a colossal blow before Saturday’s crunch Six Nations match against Wales with Manu Tuilagi ruled out by a hamstring injury – just hours after he was recalled to the side by Eddie Jones. Tuilagi was in line for his first England appearance since November, as well as a first Six Nations start for two years, but Jones’s plans have now been ruined after the centre’s injury curse continued.
Joe Marchant has been summoned to join the squad but Jones will not finalise his team until hours before kick-off on Saturday with Elliot Daly another option to come into the centres. Either way, Tuilagi’s absence creates a monumental headache for Jones and little time to resolve it as England seek to keep their Six Nations title hopes alive against Wales.
During training on Thursday afternoon Tuilagi suffered a low grade tear to the same hamstring he injured in the first 10 minutes against South Africa, in the process of scoring the opening try, and a subsequent scan confirmed the extent of the injury. Though England hope the 30-year-old will return before the end of the Six Nations, his absence on Saturday is a devastating setback.
Jones had enthused about the unique threat of Tuilagi, and over the prospect of seeing a 10-12-13 axis with Marcus Smith and Henry Slade on either side of the Sale centre. Now the head coach must decide whether to put Marchant straight back into the side after he was released back to Harlequins earlier in the week, or opt for the versatile Daly instead. England’s attacking plan requires major surgery regardless.
England v Wales teams, 4.45pm GMT kick-off, Saturday 26 February
England: Steward; Malins, Slade, Daly, Nowell; Smith, Randall; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Sinckler, Ewels, Itoje, Lawes (capt), Curry, Dombrandt. Replacements: George, Marler, Stuart, Isiekwe, Simmonds, Youngs, Ford, Marchant.
Wales: L Williams; Cuthbert, Watkin, Tompkins, Adams; Biggar (capt), T Williams; W Jones, Elias, Francis, Rowlands, Beard, Moriarty, Basham, Faletau. Replacements: Lake, G Thomas, Brown, S Davies, Morgan, Hardy, Anscombe, J Davies.
“Manu is a gain-line accumulator isn’t he,” Jones had said. “He wins the gain line consistently, draws defenders in which creates space for other options. He does that better than anyone else in the world when he’s at full tilt.”
Jones did, however, acknowledge that while Tuilagi is, in effect, irreplaceable, England have often had to cope with his absence. Since Jones took over in 2016, Tuilagi has been available for just 50 of 71 matches prior to Saturday’s clash but such is his value, England have not lost at Twickenham for 10 years when he has been in the side.
“The only thing I know is that he gives us a lot of confidence because he has that physical power and when he plays the players feed off that,” added Jones. “But also we’ve learned to play without him. We’ve played most of the last two years without Manu. But when he’s there we intend to use his power and if he’s not there we find another way to manufacture power.”
His latest blow will also be keenly felt among the rest of the squad given his popularity among his peers. Ellis Genge, formerly a teammate at Leicester Tigers, said earlier this week: “Besides being a world-class player he is a world-class teammate. He is probably one of them you would think because of his genetics he doesn’t do the graft off the pitch. But he is relentless with his recovery.”
Jones has handed the returning Courtney Lawes the captaincy but left Ben Youngs – is in line for his record-breaking 115th cap – on the bench with Harry Randall continuing at scrum-half. Lawes comes straight back into the side at blindside flanker, having been sidelined with a head injury since mid-January, and takes back the captaincy from Tom Curry.
Randall impressed against Italy last time out, making only his third start, and his fledgling partnership with Smith has evidently impressed Jones. His selection is a signal of intent given the tempo that Randall brings with Youngs now poised to surpass Jason Leonard’s caps record from the bench. Max Malins and Jack Nowell are on the wings and Freddie Steward continues at full back.
In the pack, Alex Dombrandt keeps his place at No 8 ahead of Sam Simmonds while Maro Itoje returns to the second row where he joins Charlie Ewels. Genge and Luke Cowan-Dickie – both been named among the four vice-captains – are alongside Kyle Sinckler, who makes his 50th appearance, in the front row. Slade and Curry are the other two deputies while Joe Marler, Jamie George, Will Stuart, Nick Isiekwe, George Ford and Elliot Daly join Simmonds and Youngs on the bench.
