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Ex-England captain believes Tuilagi and Te'o just 'an experiment'
By Peter Thompson
Lewis Moody wants to see "powerhouse" England wing Joe Cokanasiga wreak havoc when he makes his first Six Nations start against Italy on Saturday.
Cokanasiga will replace the injured Jack Nowell (shoulder) for the round-four encounter with an Azzurri side who sit bottom of the table without a point.
The Bath flyer scored tries in both of his previous starts against Japan and Australia last November.
Former England flanker Moody is excited by the prospect of the 21-year-old being unleashed at Twickenham, where Eddie Jones' side will be expected to come out firing following their defeat to Wales.
Speaking on behalf of Land Rover, Moody told Omnisport: "Cokanasiga is the really interesting selection for me and one I am really excited about.
"Had he been fit, he would have been in at the start of the tournament I am sure after the way he played in the autumn. When he is on the pitch he brings that excitement, the feeling something is going to happen.
"He has such power and pace and offers something unique, with the ability to either bounce off a couple of tackles and score or make a try for someone else.
"Eddie Jones is obviously a huge fan of Jack Nowell with his tenacity, but he did not have his best game against Wales. I think there is definitely a place in the side for Nowell, but Cokanasiga offers something so different and he can make a big impact on Saturday."
Ben Te'o also starts in a team that includes five changes following the loss to leaders Wales, but Moody does not see the British and Irish Lion and Manu Tuilagi forming a centre pairing beyond this weekend.
"I believe the Henry Slade and Tuilagi combination has worked well, so I can only see it as being an experiment to play two big, brash centres." said Moody.
"It seems like a South African-style tactic of bludgeoning them into submission down the middle and it will be interesting to see how they work together."
Lewis Moody is a Land Rover ambassador. Land Rover shares and understands the values of rugby. @LandRoverRugby
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we need a damaging 12 that takes 2 men to tackle that will take pressure off the 10 while also creating space for the 10 and 13 . Leicester is the only guy that fits the mould . The next thing is " will he be able to develop a good offload " ? .
for 13 Joey manu has more x factor then reiko and jordie put togeather . he's got one season in japan before he looks to come home . he's a dark horse but his skill set is something the All Blacks don't have . if he comes home and lights up the npc in a game or 2 , id love to see him fast tracked and come off the bench for the All Blacks and thrown into the deep end to see if he can swim . Just to see if he's worth the time and effort to develop further . We all saw how good sualii did for the wallabies and joey manu is just as good as sualii . He's safe under the high ball , a solid defender , has a master offload , and he's fast and strong .
he fits the mould for razor's offload tactics .
Plus reiko and jordie have had the 12 & 13 for how long and I haven't seen anything special from either of them .
Go to commentsRussia has taken their freedom. Dying for nato won't change that.
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