Lawrence injury opens door for possible Tuilagi England return against Ireland

Steve Borthwick will be forced into another midfield reshuffle for England’s final match of the Six Nations against Ireland on Saturday with Ollie Lawrence ruled out with a hamstring injury. Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi both offer Borthwick contrasting alternatives as the head coach wrestles with how to bounce back from the record home defeat by France.

Lawrence has started the last three matches at inside-centre but sustained the injury in Saturday’s humiliating defeat by France and was not named in Borthwick’s 36-man squad on Monday. Tuilagi is available again, however, following his suspension and could feature under Borthwick for the first time after the head coach lamented England’s lack of power against the physically dominant French. Time and again England lost the gainline battle and though Tuilagi has been sidelined through suspension for the last three weeks he can offer a carrying threat few others can.

Tuilagi was one of the first major casualties of Borthwick’s reign after he was dropped for the defeat by Scotland. The 31-year-old was Eddie Jones’s go-to man to bring midfield presence whenever he was fit but Borthwick signalled a changing of the guard by turning to the in-form Lawrence. Tuilagi, however, has stayed with the squad despite the suspension he then picked up on club duty. He is hugely popular with his teammates and on his day can provide what Borthwick believes is missing.

“What was clear is there is no doubt in the contact area, both in attack and in defence, their power told,” said Borthwick after the record loss to France. “Our ability to win the gainline and generate quick ball in attack was very limited, and our ability to stop them on the gainline, in defence, and not allow them to offload