MANU BACK ON CENTRAL LINE AGAIN
MANU TUILAGI will be restored to his natural habitat on saturday as England seek a solution to their perennial midfield conundrum by reverting to the partnership which excelled in auckland.
a week after the experimental deployment of the leicester centre out wide, he will be back in the No 13 shirt for the series finale in Hamilton, alongside Kyle Eastmond.
The decision by stuart lancaster and his assistants to reunite that Eden Park axis means an abrupt demotion for Billy Twelvetrees and luther Burrell — the former right out of the match-day 23 and the latter to the replacements bench.
The upheaval doesn’t end there in the aftermath of the 28-27 second Test defeat in dunedin. There are seven personnel changes to the starting XV, despite lancaster’s intention to minimise disruption and foster continuity.
The anticipated half-back revamp is in response to injuries, with Ben Youngs and Freddie Burns replacing danny care and owen Farrell, who have shoulder and knee problems respectively.
chris ashton has been recalled to fill the wing space vacated by Tuilagi (below).
Up front, the coaches have opted to add ballast from the aviva Premiership final contingent who arrived late on tour — with dylan Hartley returning at hooker, courtney lawes in the second row and Billy Vunipola at No 8.
The powerful trio are expected to provide physicality and the intensity of men who have impatiently awaited this belated opportunity. amid talking points aplenty, the midfield equation is once again prominent. it is the area which has caused England many problems and prompted regular debates for a decade and more, since the World cup days of Will Greenwood, mike catt and mike Tindall.
lancaster has been forced to constantly reshuffle his centre candidates, partly due to injury and partly due to the neverending quest to find the most potent blend. He denied that this latest selection represents excessive rotation.
‘i don’t think it’s muddied the waters,’ said lancaster. ‘ We actually played the same back line throughout the whole six Nations, give or take.
‘The Farrell-Burrell-Twelvetrees partnership played right the way through.
‘i still think we are finding out which players can deliver at the highest level. We’ve had a good chance to look at Billy Twelvetrees during the course of the season. Kyle Eastmond’s come in, he’s had one opportunity, he’s taken it, so now’s the time to give him a second chance.
‘Billy wasn’t that far off it at the weekend but when i look at the two games i thought Kyle edged him. When you are weighing that up and you want to have a look at Kyle at some point, the reality is that we need four centres who can play throughout the World cup. We need to find out now.’ lancaster denied that the recall and swift removal of both Twelvetrees and Burrell from the starting midfield suggested the coaches were tinkering. He said: ‘Billy picked up his injury on may 3 and really only trained in the week prior to the second Test. ‘looking back, it was a big step to put him into that second Test. i don’t don’t think it was the differential between winning and losing, but it was a big step and how are you supposed to know unless you try it? For luther, too, it was a big step to play at that level.’
ashton’s return to the starting line- up is a positive end to a difficult period for the saracens wing. His try- scoring cameo as a replacement last weekend was his first appearance for England in 2014, having been dropped prior to the six Nations. management doubts about Jonny may’s reliability at this level have created a new opening for him. ‘it’s a massive opportunity for him,’ said lancaster. ‘He understands that. ‘We felt he had areas of his game to work on and all the evidence is that he is ready to take his chance again.
‘We will see whether he has learned and can deliver again.’