OPINION – When the news came in about Tuilagi’s indiscretion in April involving a taxi driver and two policewomen, I’m not going to pretend that I wasn’t completely distraught and didn’t consign England’s World Cup hopes to the gutter. As an English fan myself, I felt saddened and let down by Tuilagi’s antics. However in hindsight (and yes hindsight is a beautiful thing), the fact that Tuilagi’s actions demanded he be stood down may be very fortuitous for England and the decision by Lancaster might ultimately pay dividends for England and their World Cup campaign.
Manu Tuilagi is without doubt England’s most potent threat not just in terms of gain line success but the ability to blow holes in the hardest of defences (as we all witnessed in the 2012 win over New Zealand). But while he has had his behavioural troubles on and off the field, he’s also struggled to remain injury free which has often effected his form and his match fitness levels. Tuilagi’s 2014/2015 season started off in rocky fashion and, unfortunately for the 24 year old, was over before he even reached 2015. He was lucky to be chosen for the Rugby World Cup considering all the rugby he missed (including the Autumn Internationals and the entire 2015 6 nations) but the decision to more-or-less banish Tuilagi from the England squad may have been correct even without his off-field misdemeanours.
When you focus on the impact that England’s centre partnership had in the Six Nations – Luther Burrell and Jonathan Joseph – there has appeared to be a resurgence in ‘ball in hand’ running rugby that had been expunged from the squad ever since Manu’s absence. This is a simple thought but a prominent one. Why add a potentially volatile element to a formula that has already proven to work? This thought was my biggest fear, that in all the excitement surrounding Tuilagi’s return, the progress that England had made as a squad would be put to one side; luckily England will get the chance they deserve.
Manu Tuilagi is an important strike weapon in Lancaster’s arsenal however, throughout the Autumn and the Spring, the Red Roses have shown that they can cope without him. I feel that the past 12 months has seen the emergence of a “new England” with Burrell and Joseph and banishing Tuilagi from the squad not only proves Lancaster’s resolve to keep England’s ethos intact but prevents any such reliance on the destructive midfielder who has also proved destructive to himself. Once he’s willing to drink the cool-aid by keeping his nose clean and bite into Lancaster’s team ethos then he’ll be welcomed back with open arms. However until then, he might just have to watch Robshaw and co hold Bill aloft on television from the comfort of his couch.