Six Nations 2016: Jonathan Joseph keen on staying central to Eddie Jones’ plans of England domination

This weekend, Joseph and Owen Farrell find themselves squaring up to one of international rugby’s most experienced partnerships in Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies

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Jonathan Joseph was charged with using his local knowledge to compile a “things to do in Bath” list as England’s players headed west on another of their week-long breaks from the team base in Surrey. It was no easy task: cauliflower-faced prop forwards do not feature highly among the target audience for the Jane Austen Centre; canal-side boozers awash with real ale are largely off-limits during the Six Nations. “I recommended some restaurants… that was about it,” said the centre, ruefully.

Life is not about to get any easier. This weekend, Joseph and Owen Farrell will find themselves squaring up to one of international rugby’s most experienced partnerships in Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies, and even if things go well on England-Wales day at Twickenham, there is the not-so-small matter of Manu Tuilagi to consider.

Eddie Jones, the red-rose coach, is keen to play Tuilagi somewhere in the back line, and as the Leicester man is nobody’s idea of a Test wing – he proved that much during the summer tour of New Zealand in 2014 – someone in midfield will have to give up the shirt sooner rather than later. Suffice to say Joseph was relieved to hear that the new boss had identified his rival from Leicester as a No 12 rather than a No 13.

“Did Eddie say that? Nice,” the Recreation Grounder said with a grin. “Actually, Manu could play in a number of positions. It’s great to have him back in the squad.”

England have been chopping and changing their centres since time immemorial: even during the knockout stage of the World Cup-winning campaign in 2003, there was a degree of uncertainty over the identity of the first-choice No 13. While Wales have fielded Roberts and Davies whenever possible and the barely beatable All Blacks went through two World Cup cycles with Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith at the heart of back-line matters, red-rose coaches have been in Uncle Tom Cobley mode.

But Joseph is putting his best foot forward in an attempt to provide continuity. His contribution in last year’s Six Nations was something close to exceptional – four tries in five games enhanced his reputation as a game-breaker – and after an injury-plagued World Cup, his recent hat-trick against Italy in Rome provided welcome evidence of a return to form.

Unlike many of those involved in England’s swift departure from the global gathering on home soil, Joseph is willing to admit that the pain lingers. Not for him the airbrush option: he does not attempt to fool all of the people all of the time by trotting out the party line about “moving on” and leaving the past behind. For him, a Six Nations title this month is the only sure way of dealing with events before Christmas.

“When each individual involved in the World Cup campaign looks back on what happened, it hurts massively,” he said. “What was it like, watching the loss to Wales [a game he missed after taking a serious blow to the chest during the opening night victory over Fiji]? Horrible. A really tough one. It wasn’t a great time. But it’s a driving force for us now. We’ve had to deal with our share of disappointment in recent seasons and we don’t want to feel like that again.

“So this is a big game for us. There’s such a rivalry behind it: Wales are always up for a match against England, but it’s huge for us too. What we want to do now is make Twickenham a place other teams fear – make it a tough place to visit. To win this weekend is an important stage in the process.”