Rugby World Cup: After dominating Ireland, can England’s big ball-carriers be stopped?

Manu Tuilagi and Joe Cokanasiga wreaked havoc against Ireland in midfield

The sight of Manu Tuilagi wreaking havoc on the Ireland defence on Saturday was one to behold, yet brought with it a tinge of regret over what rugby union has missed out on.

Tuilagi finished one of England’s eight tries in the 57-15 dismantling of the Irish, claimed the man of the match award and caused so many problems for the defence that they could not afford to leave him one-on-one, giving the England back-three to freedom of Twickenham to make the most of.

Along with partner-in-crime Joe Cokanasiga, England sent a barrage of power-ball carriers down the throat of the 10-12 channel, causing the defensive line to constrict repeatedly and give Jonny May and friends the space needed to then stretch the game. It is a tactic that if executed well will almost certainly result in success, and has been utilised by New Zealand and South Africa since the dawn of time.

For England, it is a much more unfamiliar game plan, but one that has been brought into play by Eddie Jones only once he got his hands on Tuilagi. The England head coach attempted to do the same with Ben Te’o, but there is no player quite like Tuilagi, and Te’o has since been jettisoned into international exile in the south of France.

So why are we now, at 28 years old, seeing the best of Tuilagi? Because he is fit – and not just injury-fit – but fitter than he has been for a very long time, possibly ever in his career.

“We’re massively fitter,” Jones said after getting to grips with his squad over the last three months, the longest he has had with his players since taking charge. “I think you can see that, we’ve got body-shape changes.”

It is something the players are noticing too. “Everyone, not just the England boys, but all of world rugby, is over the moon when [Tuilagi’s] fit and healthy and playing like he is,” says teammate May. “This period of time has been invaluable for him because he finished the season healthy and has now been able to come in and train for 12 weeks. None of us boys normally get that opportunity, but he particularly needed it and now we are seeing the best version of him.

“He is a finely tuned athlete. There are not many people his size who move as fast as him or as powerfully as him. He has got to be looked after and they have to get it just right. It is a hard balance between training hard enough so he can produce what he does and not being overtrained.”

With Tuilagi available to provide those game-breaking moments, it also allows the George Ford-Owen Farrell partnership to show its full potential. When Tuilagi is at 13 it requires a Farrell-esque figure to fill the No 12 shirt to ensure the ball can get out to the back-three.

But there is another factor here. Normally a team will worry about the big ball carriers within the pack. When England have struggled in the past, it is because teams have been able to contain the Vunipola brothers. Take them out of the game and you negate England’s biggest weapon.

So what have England done? They’ve grown that department. Tuilagi obviously joins the mix but we have seen recently how much Kyle Sinckler has grown in his short international career, combined with the handling skills of an inside back. Maro Itoje is becoming a major handful to keep out of the game, and the more England play Joe Cokanasiga, the more they will work out how to bring the best out of him. This was on display on Saturday – all without Mako Vunipola for the majority of the game – and the simple matter of fact is that you can’t double-up on all of them.

It allows England to make the most of overlaps and mismatches, as we saw with Tom Curry’s try. Sinckler takes the ball at first-receiver, but while every man and his dog would expect a tighthead prop to take the contact, he was able to commit defender Devin Toner and send Sam Underhill through on his shoulder, who laid it on a plate for Curry to finish a slick move that the pack will be proud of for quite some time.

“I think for us it’s always trying to add things to our game and having props that can play with the ball in hand,” revealed Billy Vunipola. “It was only last year that Tadhg [Furlong] was leading in terms of that facet of the game. We’re learning off other people as much as each other. It was awesome to see Sinck put someone through a hole.

Fully fit and fully firing, Manu Tuilagi ran riot against Ireland at Twickenham (EPA)

“The key there is making them think. When you start doing things really well, teams will start analysing it and start waiting for it, almost anticipating it. We are not trying to give too much away but to see that try was pretty awesome. Three forwards setting up a try between us was great to see and it is something we have been working on. That was created by all the hard work we were doing before, trying to get through the line, doing all the hard carries. That is what impressed me most.”

The feeling was echoed by Itoje. “Rugby is obviously a collision sport and we need to get over the gainline; we have a few big guys in our pack who can do that, but the other part of it is our subtlety because when you play one type of way, you get found out eventually. So it’s nice to have guys who are good with the ball in hand; little tips and passes here and there, and it keeps the opposition guessing.

“We work on our handling skills a lot; we have some great individual players. Mako and Billy are as good as any backs I’ve seen. I wish my hands were that good to be honest. We know we need to continue to work hard and push forward in that area. I think we’re in a good place.”

It is something that has always put the All Blacks ahead of the rest in the way that their hulking forwards can play like backs. If England are able to keep these key ball carriers fit and firing, there will be many defences fearful of what could unfold in Japan: will the danger come from the front, second or back row? And that is all before Tuilagi gets his chance to do the damage.