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Tuilagi to make long-awaited England start in Dublin
By Peter Thompson
Manu Tuilagi will make his first England start since 2014 in the blockbuster Six Nations clash with Ireland but there is no place in the squad for Joe Launchbury or Mike Brown.
Tuilagi made his international comeback off the bench against Australia last November and will make up the centre pairing with Henry Slade in Dublin on Saturday, with Ben Te'o ruled out due to a side strain.
Locks Maro Itoje and George Kruis are paired together as Launchbury misses out and Courtney Lawes starts on the bench, while brothers Mako and Billy Vunipola are back among the pack.
Elliot Daly gets the nod at full-back as Brown is overlooked, with Owen Farrell captaining the side at fly-half.
Co-captain Dylan Hartley (knee) will not be involved at the Aviva Stadium, where Tom Curry and Mark Wilson will make their Six Nations debuts.
Jack Nowell and Jonny May start on the wings, with Chris Ashton named among the replacements along with uncapped scrum-half Dan Robson.
England: Elliot Daly, Jonny May, Henry Slade, Manu Tuilagi, Jack Nowell, Owen Farrell (captain), Ben Youngs; Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Mark Wilson, Tom Curry, Billy Vunipola.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Harry Williams, Courtney Lawes, Nathan Hughes, Dan Robson, George Ford, Chris Ashton.
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Latest Comments
And before so one retorts that playing in Japan’s Top League makes you soft, I did not see any soft Springboks out on the pitch against the All Blacks last August/ September.
Go to commentsMan…prop ain’t a issue. We are seeing now tge same issue the all blacks were having. 13 ain’t flowing and the class the blues like the ABs have in the backline ain’t firing. We blamed 10…we looked at Reece…reality is, how does sevu go from top try scorer last year and current to barely touching the ball during the tour. When a 13 that actually sets up is inside sevu, he shines. But we don’t question the 13(reiko) much, he was a winger that is used to finishing and playing isolated. Not strong or physical enough to crack the midfield. He ain’t setting noone up. Barely looks for options when he has ball in hand(that’s if he catches it first).Both tries this year finishing on the wing. I think reikos time is up.
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