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Manu Tuilagi boost for injury hit England

(Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)

Sale boss Alex Sanderson has given injury hit England a massive Six Nations boost by revealing wrecking ball Manu Tuilagi is set to be recalled for the clash with Italy in Rome on February 13.

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Tuilagi has made a rapid return from the grade three hamstring tear he suffered just six minutes into England’s Autumn series 27-26 win over South Africa as he scored a try. It was feared Tuilagi would miss the entire Six Nations – a fate that has now befallen captain Owen Farrell who has undergone surgery on an ankle injury.

This has left major question marks over England’s midfield selection and Sanderson said that while Tuilagi, who has a newly arrived baby boy, is not ready to play against former club Leicester on Sunday he will be ready to face defending Premiership champions Harlequins the day after England face Scotland on February 5.

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The Sale director of rugby is adamant that one game would be enough to allow Jones to call up Tuilagi to the squad to travel to Italy and said: “He is training and looking good but we think it is too much of a risk to push him this weekend.

“Harlequins is the projected return and then we will see how he feels for Six Nations. It is a week-to-week thing for Manu but England have total autonomy over when he plays and doesn’t play and if he looks really good and feels good, he will go straight through to England and it could be Italy.

“He is an exceptional trainer and a quick healer so all of his progressions are done on the back of hitting physiological markers and GPS speeds, rescans and seeing the specialist and we would never push him earlier. He is very diligent and is living a very wholesome life at the moment; doesn’t eat much meat, doesn’t got out and has just had a baby boy. All of these things are lending themselves to him pushing through the rehab quicker.

“The best players take the most care generally speaking and with some of them its because they are very demanding to get the best out of themselves and you need to meet with them and challenge them. Big players have big egos but Manu has none of those and he is the easiest man to manage but it is going to take time and focus and energy to manage the physical attributes he has. Manu helps manage other players because he is the spider’s web of interconnectivity with the friendships and trust he creates.

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“He has lost weight and we know now what he can function and maintain in terms of overall loadings per week. We know what is good for him and how far we can stretch that as the intensity goes up for international duty. It has to dovetail with the demands of the international game.”

Sanderson also believes Curry is ready if handed the England captaincy if Courtney Lawes is still troubled by concussion and said: “First he has the desire to take the lead and he has always been someone with the attributes to lead. He is really taken the bull by the horns and had the bit in his teeth when it comes to verbally driving the players – taking the lead in meetings and in those breaks in games on the field and he is good at it – better than me in terms of being concise.

“That’s part of it and we had a chat right after the Lions tour and up to this point has only been think about himself in preparation – what he needs to be in the right place and it was his awakening that he has to take into consideration other people and what they need in their prep to give their best performance for the team. That was the start; he talks more and is good at it and sees the need for it and has a great awareness of what the team needs in their preparation.”

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SK 13 minutes ago
Why England's defence of the realm has crumbled without Felix Jones

The way they are defending is sometime pathetic to be honest. Itoje is usually on the inside of the rush and he is paired with a slower tight forward. Unable to keep up with the rush we have seen the line become disconnected on the inside where the big boys are. How many times have we seen Earl rush past the first receiver almost into no mans land covering no attacker. It looks like a system without any guidance. Tome Wright, Ikitau and a number of Wallabies went back to this soft centre as did Williams, Jordan and several others. Also when the line is broken the multiple lines of defence seems to be missing. The rush is predicated on a cover and recovery system with multiple lines of defence but with England you dont see it any more. Fitness and conditioning seems to be off as well as players are struggling to keep up with the intensity of the rush. Felix Jones has left a huge hole. The whole situation was and is a mess. Why they insist on not letting him go and having him work remotely is beyond me. Its leading to massive negative press and is a hot button issue thats distracting from the squad. Also the communication around Jones and his role has been absolute rubbish and is totally disjointed. While some say he is working remotely and playing a role others are saying theres been no contact. His role has not been defined and so people keep asking and keep getting different answers. England need a clean break from him and need to start over. Whatever reason for his leaving its time to cut the rope before the saga drags the whole Borthwick regime down. As for Joe El Abd well good luck to him. He is being made to look like an amateur by the whole saga and he is being asked to coach a system thats not his and which has been perfected and honed since 2017 by Nienaber, Jones, Erasmus and Co and which was first started by White in 2004. He is literally trying to figure out a system pioneered by double world cup winning coaches at the highest level and coach it at the same time. Talk about being on a hiding to nothing.

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