Smith hails return of Tuilagi to England training squad

England flyhalf Marcus Smith has welcomed the return from injury of centre Manu Tuilagi as the squad prepares for a showdown with Wales at Twickenham on Feb. 26, a match both sides need to win to keep their championship hopes on track.

Tuilagi was added to the England training squad to bolster the midfield options for coach Eddie Jones following his return for Sale Sharks at the weekend after a hamstring problem.

"He's a brilliant player, when I was young I used to watch him play. I think I even watched his first try at Twickenham, the dummy-switch with Jonny Wilkinson (against Wales in 2011)," Smith told reporters on Wednesday.

"We played a couple of games together in the autumn. It's brilliant to have him back in camp, he's a ball of energy.

"He's a brilliant ball-carrier. But I think his skillset is undervalued. He can pass off both hands very well. All our centres are massive threats at the line and good carriers in their own right."

Smith has been a stand-out performer for England in this Six Nations, and says he is working closely with Jones to improve.

"He has been brilliant with me, pushed me and given me good feedback. Our dialogue has been very open and I'm learning a lot off Eddie," Smith says.

"He is pushing me to get me to where I want to get to in my career and where he wants to get this team to."

England are second in the Six Nations table, three points behind leaders France after two rounds. Only five points separate the latter and Wales in fifth.

"It is wide open at the moment," Smith says. "France are unbeaten, but they have some tough games coming up. It is all to play for, and we are massively excited about the next few weeks and hopefully we can put ourselves in the best position to win it."

(Reporting by