England considering a brand-new midfield combination for Tuilagi

Steve Borthwick has hinted that a brand-new midfield combination could be unleashed by England. Manu Tuilagi has had numerous partners at centre during his decade-plus involvement at Test level, but he has yet to play alongside Ollie Lawrence.

Both were included in the 33-strong squad named on Monday for next month’s Rugby World Cup in France and Borthwick has suggested the Tuilagi-Lawrence combination is something he would consider as he believes it’s a partnership that could work.

Lawrence has made eight starts in his 11-cap career, seven of those run-on appearances coming with Henry Slade as his midfield partner.

Three of those matches were in last spring’s Guinness Six Nations. However, with Slade now axed from the England squad, the way is open for Lawrence and the 51-cap Tuilagi to potentially get a run together ahead of the World Cup which starts on September 9 versus Argentina in Marseille.

“I think they can play together, with Manu at 12 and Ollie Lawrence at 13,” reckoned Borthwick when asked about the potential World Cup make-up of his midfield with Slade no longer an option.

“I thought Ollie Lawrence, that [2023] was his first proper Six Nations, he played games and he did really, really well until he had to go off in that France game with a hamstring injury. Ollie brings carry and he is also a very good defender.

“We have different systems across the league to rate performances and in our eyes, he rates exceptionally highly as a defender and he has defended at 13 or 12 in the Premiership, so he brings that. We know the strengths and experience Manu brings. I think they can play together if we want to play in a specific way.”

Borthwick doesn’t shy away from rugby’s current power influence. “When I am watching games now there is a huge power game aspect,” he added. “I watch teams who have that power have a real advantage. What would have got to be able to do is combat that.”

Tuilagi sat out England training at Teddington on Tuesday but the Lawrence-Tuilagi idea is a partnership has the approval of Andy Goode, the ex-England international.

In his RugbyPass column on the England World Cup squad, the former out-half wrote: “I feel Borthwick is going for a starting midfield of Ollie Lawrence and Manu Tuilagi.

“We know how much he values size and power in the game plan he usually adopts and that pair have the ability to get England over the gain line and provide solidity in defence, but don’t underestimate Lawrence’s ball-playing ability as well.

“The pair have never previously started together and in an ideal world you want a cohesive centre partnership who know each other inside out, the kind England arguably haven’t really had since they won the World Cup in 2003, but that is just the position they are in.”