The Borthwick message for Manu Tuilagi ahead of potential last cap
Steve Borthwick has urged Manu Tuilagi not to turn his back on England after priming the powerful Sale centre for a cameo role in Saturday’s clash with France in Lyon.
Tuilagi will make his first appearance of the 2024 Guinness Six Nations, filling the vacancy on the bench created when Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s concussion-enforced absence resulted in Elliot Daly’s return to the starting XV.
It could be his farewell appearance in a Red Rose jersey as he considers a lucrative move to the Top 14 at the end of the season – when he will be 33 years old – with Montpellier his likely destination.
Tuilagi has been a central figure for four successive England coaches because of his carrying threat but he could soon be following former teammates Owen Farrell, Henry Arundell and Joe Marchant across the Channel.
“I’m hopeful Manu will be staying in England. There are no plans confirmed as yet, to my understanding,” Borthwick said.
“Ultimately it’s up to Manu and the opportunities that present themselves. From my point of view, he knows I would want him to be in England – I want all our best players playing in England.”
Tuilagi would have been involved earlier in the Six Nations had it not been for a groin problem sustained in mid-December, the latest in a long list of injuries that have made him unavailable for international duty for lengthy spells.
Although in the twilight of his career, Borthwick believes Tuilagi still has plenty to offer England – both on and off the field.
“Manu adds huge amounts to this squad. He’s a player who impacts upon people and he impacts upon games. I’m looking forward to seeing him impact upon this game on Saturday night,” Borthwick said.
“Manu has been training well and has looked sharper and sharper. His training, work ethic and what he delivers on the field are always excellent.
“We have got a number of young players in this squad and he takes the time and the care to help them and pass his knowledge on.
“The very best players make everyone else be five or 10 per cent better because of their presence and Manu has that effect.
“He is socially robust within the group, he’s brilliant at bringing people together. He’s the one at the coffee machine making coffee for everyone to sit, chat and spend time with each other. He brings people together.”
Borthwick has kept faith with George Ford at fly-half despite Marcus Smith’s match-winning contribution off the bench in the 23-22 upset of Ireland last Saturday.
Smith brought extra zip and creativity to England in the latter stages, as well as landing the decisive drop goal, but Ford was also excellent outside of his goalkicking problems and his growing understanding with full-back George Furbank is seen as key.
“The prime reason for the decision is that both of them played really well. George played a really good game in many ways and the blend of the two of them is an exciting blend,” Borthwick said.
“We are trying to build that consistency and cohesion. If players haven’t played with each other, you can’t expect them to read each other. Having consistency in selection helps this team build and that’s an important step for us.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
31 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
31 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
31 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
31 Go to comments