Manu Tuilagi expected to power up England’s electric Smith-Slade axis

edn

Sometimes the stars align, even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day and occasionally Eddie Jones’s views on team selection match up with those of the England masses. On Wednesday night the latest indications were that by selecting a midfield combination of Marcus Smith, Manu Tuilagi and Henry Slade, Thursday morning’s team announcement is set to be one of those occasions.

The curveball move would have been to pick Tuilagi on the wing – as was the case against Australia in November – or leaving him on the bench but barring a late change of heart, Jones is likely to give the public what they want. For, given the options available to him, a 10-12-13 combination of Smith, Tuilagi and Slade is the most logical choice - a midfield trio providing the backbone of a lineup to quicken the pace en route to Twickenham.

To date that midfield trio have appeared together only in glimpses, including eight minutes in the victory over South Africa before Tuilagi went off with a hamstring injury, having already scored the opening try.

But with 15 Tests left before the World Cup campaign begins, now is the time for Jones to unleash this perfectly-balanced combination which could wreak havoc at France 2023, the elephant in the room that is a fit-again Owen Farrell notwithstanding.

It is a combination that marries Smith’s electricity at fly-half with the gainline power of Tuilagi and the abundant class of Slade as a second playmaking option. It would be so well received that supporters would not quibble as to which way round Tuilagi and Slade are selected, provided they occupy the same midfield.

The theory goes that Tuilagi would link with Smith the way that Andre Esterhuizen does at Harlequins, punching holes in the Wales