58 Monday February 21 2022 | the timesSportGuinness Six Nations
5England are ready to select Manu
Tuilagi against Wales in the Guinness
Six Nations with the centre retained in
Eddie Jones’s squad this week.
The 30-year-old Sale Sharks player is
set to feature in his first Six Nations
match since March 2020 on Saturday at
Twickenham. He was included in a
35-man group by England last night
along with Joe Marler and Nick Isiekwe
— who were released to play for their
clubs over the weekend — the fit-again
Courtney Lawes and the lock Joe
Launchbury.
England have not lost a home game
with Tuilagi in the match-day squad
since November 2012 against South
Africa, and their defence coach,
Anthony Seibold, cannot wait to see
him back in a white shirt.the talent to state a case for inclusion
sooner rather than later.
“His weapons speak for themselves,”
Seibold said. “When you watch Wasps
play he is a handful. There was a game
there against Toulouse, I am sure you
remember, when he made such an
impact with his ball carrying. He has
got to continue to improve his work offthe ball in defence and he knows that. It
is an area he has really been trying to
grow in the last couple of weeks since he
has been in camp here.
“Once he improves that part of his
game he is going to be one hell of a
player; it is about him deciding how far
he wants to go; it is about being
consistent in his game and continuingcoach, was keen to look at Christ Tshiunza, of
Exeter Chiefs, there. He is of similar stature.
I was listening to an interview that Jones did
recently, and I agreed with what he was saying
about how energy-sapping the work of a
second-row at scrummages and lineout mauls
can be. It turns your legs to jelly, and is why so
many back-three players beat front-five players
in the 15-metre channels. Their legs have gone.
Itoje is not playing badly at the moment but I
do think he is not having as many influential,work and extra weight at the scrummage. They
are looking for players who are 6ft 6in, 110-
115kg, mobile and skilful.
Wales obviously played two open-sides in Jac
Morgan and Taine Basham against Scotland and
it worked well, but I do think they should be
looking to play Seb Davies, a lock who began his
junior career as a centre, at blind-side flanker.
He can be like Itoje or Lawes in that position
and he did spend some time there last autumn.
It is also why Wayne Pivac, the Wales headA
lex Dombrandt or Sam Simmonds at
No 8 for England against Wales on
Saturday? It is an interesting debate
and some decision for head coach
Eddie Jones to make, depending on
fitness, of course, because Simmonds is
managing a hip injury, but the reality is that this
should be seen as a positive for England rather
than any difficult problem. You could toss a coin
as to who plays, and neither will let you down.
They are two very good players.
It takes me back to my playing career when
there seemed to be a constant debate in the
media about whether Justin Tipuric or I should
be playing at open-side flanker for Wales. I
actually remember Warren Gatland, the head
coach, having a team meeting once about this
very thing. He said that the press were trying to
create some big rivalry between the two of us,
when in fact we should have been celebrating
that we had two open-sides we could pick.
“If there is any mention of rivalry it is not
coming from us as a coaching group,” was what
he said. “We are just happy to have two players
of such quality.” It was good to hear. He said
that in New Zealand there would be no thought
of any problem, just an acknowledgement of
how lucky they were.
England are lucky to have two such high-class
No 8s right now. You look at inside centre for
instance and the lack of alternatives there — we
will come on to Manu Tuilagi later — and it still
blows my mind that they cannot come up with
more players worthy of contention. Even when
considering players not qualified for England,
there must be over 30 in the Gallagher
Premiership squads capable of playing in that
position, and yet it always comes back to Tuilagi
and his various battles for fitness.
I think Jones will go with Dombrandt because
of his extra size against a Wales side that when
up against Scotland last weekend went back
very successfully to that physical sort of game
that was the hallmark of Gatland’s teams.
England have so many options in the back
row, and that includes Maro Itoje at No 6, as he
was in Italy last Sunday. I suspect they will want
Courtney Lawes fit, so that he can play at No 6,
with Tom Curry at No 7 and Dombrandt at
No 8, so that Itoje can go back into the second
row, possibly with Joe Launchbury, if he is
deemed fit enough as well.
Playing Dombrandt and Simmonds together
in the back row, as England did at the end of the
Italy match, is probably not an option againstWales, because it would hinder their lineout
options and that is such a big part of their game.
I actually like Itoje at No 6. That is the way
the game is going. It has almost come full circle
in that regard.
There was that period where everyone wanted
to play two open-sides, but I think, because
there is quite a lot of kicking now and an
emphasis on set piece and physicality, we are
back to everyone wanting a big, almost old-
fashioned No 6 for kick-off receipts, lineoutMove to No 6 can return Itoje to his
Sam Warburton says England
should let others do the dirty
work and free up their
talisman to produce
the magical moments
that he is capable of
Remaining fixtures
Saturday
Scotland v France
2.15pm, BBC
England v Wales
4.45pm, ITV
Sunday
Ireland v Italy
3pm, ITV
March 11
Wales v France
8pm, BBC
March 12
Italy v Scotland
2.15pm, ITV
England v Ireland
4.45pm, ITV
March 19
Wales v Italy
2.15pm, BBC
Ireland v Scotland
4.45pm, ITV
France v England
8pm, ITVHow they stand
P W D L F A T B Pts
France 22006734719
England 2 1 0 1 50 20 6 2 6
Ireland 21015337726
Scotland 2 1 0 1 37 37 3 1 5
Wales 21012746204
Italy 20021070100
Results
Ireland 29 Wales 7; Scotland 20
England 17; France 37 Italy 10; Wales
20 Scotland 17; France 30 Ireland 24;
Italy 0 England 33.Big guns back to bolster England for Twickenham date with Wales
“On both sides of the ball he’s a
powerful weapon,” Seibold, the Austra-
lian, said. “But just as, if not more,
important, his contact around the
defence is very good. He brings a physi-
cal presence.
“He also brings a lot of experience
and smarts from what we’re trying to do
from a system-perspective.
“He’s got that personality and char-
acter that people get a lot of confidence
from. It’s been great having him back in
camp, there’s no doubt about that.
Manu is a real glue [player]. He’s a really
enjoyable guy to coach.”
Those not retained for the Wales
game include Tom Pearson and Ollie
Hassell-Collins from London Irish,
Gloucester’s Mark Atkinson, and
Harlequins’ Luke Northmore.
The Wasps flanker Alfie Barbeary, 21,
who is yet to make his England debut, is
in the squad, and Seibold thinks he hasto grow his defence. He has got some
attributes you can’t coach, like his
powerful carries. It is entirely up to
Alfie how far he goes and how quickly
he gets into the match-day squad. It is
there for him to take.”
Scotland, meanwhile, are set to be
without Jonny Gray for the remainder
of the Six Nations. The Exeter Chiefs
lock, who has won 66 caps for his
country, sustained an ankle injury
against Wales in Cardiff nine days ago
that has turned out to be more serious
than first thought.
Gray, 27, had only recently returned
to Test action after missing Scotland’s
autumn Test programme due to a
shoulder problem.
Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of
rugby, explained that he has been wear-
ing a surgical boot for the past week and
that his prospects of returning to action
within the next month look slim.Will Kelleher
Deputy Rugby CorrespondentWasps’ promising forward Barbeary
has been retained in England’s squadEngland squad
Forwards A Barbeary (uncapped), J Blamire
(5 caps), O Chessum (1), L Cowan-Dickie (33),
T Curry (38), A Dombrandt (6), C Ewels (28),
E Genge (33), J George (63), J Heyes (2), M Itoje
(53), N Isiekwe (5), J Launchbury (69), C Lawes
(90), J Marler (76), B Rodd (2), S Simmonds (11),
K Sinckler (49), W Stuart (17).
Backs O Bailey (uncapped), E Daly (54), G Ford
(79), G Furbank (5), L Lynagh (uncapped),
M Malins (12), J Marchant (9), J Nowell (36),
R Quirke (2), A Radwan (2), H Randall (3), H Slade
(45), M Smith (7), F Steward (7), M Tuilagi (46),
B Youngs (114).