Six Nations 2019: Manu Tuilagi set to start for England with Ben Te'o and Brad Shields ruled out with injury
Teo, Shields and Joe Cokanasiga have all been left out of the squad that will compete for selection in the Six Nations opener against Ireland this Saturday
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Your support makes all the difference.Manu Tuilagi is in line to make his first start for England in more than four-and-a-half years after Ben Te’o was ruled out of this Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations opener against Ireland, leaving Eddie Jones short on heavyweight options in his backline.
Te’o has been ruled out with a side strain that he suffered in training during England’s camp in Portugal on Monday, joining Bath wing Joe Cokanasiga and Wasps flanker Brad Shields in being left out of the squad that will compete for selection for this weekend’s Dublin encounter.
Te’o was absent from training on Tuesday along with Shields, while Cokanasiga has not proven his fitness in time to be in contention, having not played since suffering knee ligament damage while playing for Bath against Leicester in December.
All three will remain with the squad for the rest of the week, with scrum coach Neil Hatley confirming that they should be back in contention for the second-round clash with France.
"They're not far away from where we want them to be, but obviously for a game of this magnitude we need everyone at 100 per cent," assistant coach Neal Hatley said.
Adding on Te’o’s fresh injury - which came just three days after he declared “I feel great now” following an injury-hit 18 months - Hatley said: "It was a small side strain just in training - it was fairly innocuous.
"It's not like Ben is the only player who has run at 12 for us. We've tried different people in there making sure that if something like this comes up, there are contingencies in place."
It could yet cause England into a reshuffle though. Both Tuilagi and Henry Slade are considered by Jones as natural 13s, with the Australian admitting at his Six Nations squad announcement that he no longer believes the Leicester centre is suited to the No 12 role that he initially had planned for him three years ago.
With that in mind, Jones could move Slade to 12 - a position that he struggled in for England against Argentina in 2017 - though he has largely featured at outside centre over the last two years. That could lead to captain Owen Farrell moving back to inside centre, allowing George Ford to return at fly-half, which would allow Tuilagi to continue at outside centre where he has trained for the last week.
"Manu's been looking brilliant,” Hatley added. “You've seen some of his Champions Cup performances - for example against Scarlets at Welford Road.
"Manu's just got better and better and better as he's put games together. He's trained exceptionally well in the midfield for us. He's in a really good space.
"He's a physical player and guys like playing alongside blokes like that. He definitely has a positive effect."
With no Te’o or Cokanasiga available, England’s desire to take a power-game to the reigning Six Nations Grand Slam champions will have to be re-jigged, with the rest of the back line set to formed of three of the remaining quintet of Chris Ashton, Jonny May, Jack Nowell, Elliot Daly and Mike Brown.
Jonathan Joseph has been deemed not yet ready to return after only playing 50 minutes of rugby in the last nine months, having returned from a broken foot for Bath earlier this month, and he returns to his club along with Exeter Chiefs centre Ollie Devoto and Gloucester wing Ollie Thorley.
In the pack, Luke Cowan-Dickie will act as Jamie George’s No 2 after fending off Worcester’s Jack Singleton to remain in the squad, but his Exeter teammate Ben Moon will return home after both returning loosehead props Mako Vunipola and Ellis Genge were retained, and both Kyle Sinckler and Harry Williams make up the tighthead options with Dan Cole sent back to Leicester.
All four second-rows are retained in Maro Itoje, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes and George Kruis, although with Shields ruled out and Jack Clifford already sent home with concussion, Lawes finds himself in the running to fill the blindside flanker berth along with Newcastle’s Mark Wilson, while Tom Curry looks certain to wear No 7 as Ben Earl returns to Saracens with Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes the options at No 8.
England 25-man training squad retained in Portugal
Forwards: L Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), T Curry (Sale Sharks), E Genge (Leicester Tigers), J George (Saracens), N Hughes (Wasps), M Itoje (Saracens), G Kruis (Saracens), J Launchbury (Wasps), C Lawes (Northampton Saints), K Sinckler (Harlequins), B Vunipola (Saracens), M Vunipola (Saracens), H Williams (Exeter Chiefs), M Wilson (Newcastle Falcons).
Backs: C Ashton (Sale Sharks), M Brown (Harlequins), E Daly (Wasps), O Farrell (Saracens, capt), G Ford (Leicester Tigers), J May (Leicester Tigers), J Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), D Robson (Wasps), H Slade (Exeter Chiefs), M Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), B Youngs (Leicester Tigers).
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