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Tuilagi to make long-awaited England start in Dublin


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Manu Tuilagi will make his first England start since 2014 in the blockbuster Six Nations clash with Ireland but there is no place in the squad for Joe Launchbury or Mike Brown.

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Tuilagi made his international comeback off the bench against Australia last November and will make up the centre pairing with Henry Slade in Dublin on Saturday, with Ben Te’o ruled out due to a side strain.

Locks Maro Itoje and George Kruis are paired together as Launchbury misses out and Courtney Lawes starts on the bench, while brothers Mako and Billy Vunipola are back among the pack.

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Elliot Daly gets the nod at full-back as Brown is overlooked, with Owen Farrell captaining the side at fly-half.

Co-captain Dylan Hartley (knee) will not be involved at the Aviva Stadium, where Tom Curry and Mark Wilson will make their Six Nations debuts. 

Jack Nowell and Jonny May start on the wings, with Chris Ashton named among the replacements along with uncapped scrum-half Dan Robson.

 

England: Elliot Daly, Jonny May, Henry Slade, Manu Tuilagi, Jack Nowell, Owen Farrell (captain), Ben Youngs; Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Mark Wilson, Tom Curry, Billy Vunipola.

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Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Harry Williams, Courtney Lawes, Nathan Hughes, Dan Robson, George Ford, Chris Ashton.

 

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NoLongerARuck 1 hour ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

The Six Nations produced so many compelling games and so much of action packed moments that you can only conclude that its the best international comp out there at the moment except for a world cup. If Wales improve it will be even better especially given the strides Italy have made in recent times. The Rugby Championship is now taking a hiatus in a year it really should be building toward something better which is terrible considering the competition was so tight last year. The Nations Champs promises much but one gets the feeling that the 6 Nations teams will not be at their peak given its at the end of their long season. In terms of rugby quality and entertainment Id rather watch the 6 Nations over everything else other than a world cup right now. The North arguably offers more in terms of entertainment than the South at club level as well. The Prem, the Champs Cup, URC and Top 14 all feature plenty of scoring and different playing styles while Super Rugby seems to be the same thing game in game out. While the South tries to speed up the game artificially with new trials and law variations the North has shown you can do it with good refereeing which penalises cynical play harshly and encourages positive actions on the field. In terms of entertainment the North wins. In terms of winning? They are making strides but until they win another world cup or get a team to rank number 1 again for an extended time again they cant really say they are better than the South.

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