Manu Tuilagi will hope to feature for England against Wales in the Six Nations after returning from injury
(Picture: Getty Images)There will come a time when England need to get used to life without Manu Tuilagi, but right now Eddie Jones will be desperate to get him back for next week’s clash with Wales.
Injuries have dogged Tuilagi throughout his career and this latest one, a hamstring issue, has caused him to miss the first two matches of the Six Nations.
In his absence England have won one of their opening two games, bouncing back from that opening defeat to Scotland by beating Italy on Sunday, and the return of Tuilagi will be a major boost to Jones’ options in midfield.
“There’s no one with the same bang; the same power-to-punch ratio,” said Alex Sanderson, Tuilagi’s boss at club side Sale. “He is a gain-line toy, if you like, either side of the ball.
“Manu is loving it at the moment and wants to keep cracking on here, but he is made for a bigger stage and his country needs him.”
Simply put, there is no other centre like Tuilagi at Jones’ disposal. The 30-year-old has deliberately slimmed down this season, but he is still weighing in at over 100kg and that makes him a formidable weapon.
In Tuilagi’s absence, England have tried different combinations. Against Scotland it was Henry Slade and Elliot Daly, while against Italy Joe Marchant came in for the latter.
Both pairings were based around making yards through passing and running lines, but Tuilagi offers a ball-carrying threat and a chance for England to knock the door down with their foot when picking the lock with a hair clip isn’t working.
“Just having a power running centre would give us a different option,” said Jones. “Everything we’re doing now is about trying to create opportunities through finesse and that’s through good running lines and passing.
“But to have someone who can take you forward quickly and engage two or three defenders then allows you to try and finesse extra space, which would be really useful to us.
“When you’ve got smaller centres you’ve got to be much better at your running and support lines and passing. I think we're making some progress there.
“We’ve had three centres play and I think Sladey has been very good. Joe Marchant and Elliot Daly have had their moments, but we need to get more out of that and we understand that.”
It has often been debated whether England should rely on Tuilagi too much given his injury record. Despite making his debut in 2011, the centre is yet to chalk up 50 appearances for his country, which is remarkable for a player of his undoubted talent.
That has given England time to devise other styles of play without Tuilagi, but none are as potent as a side with the centre in it.
One day they will have to accept the fact that a new way of playing, without their 100kg-plus centre, must be pressed ahead with. But right now, as England fight to stay relevant in the Six Nations, they must turn to Tuilagi once again.
